Soldiers in Benin have appeared on national television to announce that they have seized power and removed President Patrice Talon from office.
In a broadcast on state-owned ORTB television late Saturday, December 6, 2025, military officers declared the overthrow of the government, the suspension of the constitution, the dissolution of all institutions, and the immediate closure of the country’s land borders and airspace.
The coup leaders, speaking on behalf of a newly formed “Military Transition Council,” named Lieutenant-Colonel Tigri Pascal as the head of the transitional authority.
The officers accused President Talon of poor governance and justified their intervention as necessary to “save the nation.”
According to a BBC report, gunfire was heard near the presidential residence earlier in the evening. The French Embassy in Benin issued an urgent security alert confirming the shooting and instructed all French nationals to remain indoors and avoid movement until further notice.
President Patrice Talon, 67, a wealthy businessman dubbed the “King of Cotton,” was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2021. He has repeatedly stated he would not seek a third term and had already designated a successor ahead of presidential elections scheduled for April 2026.
The apparent coup in Benin comes barely a week after President Umaro Sissoco Embaló was overthrown in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau, marking the latest in a string of military takeovers in West Africa.
In recent years, successful coups have occurred in Mali (2020 and 2021), Guinea (2021), Burkina Faso (2022, twice), Niger (2023), and now Guinea-Bissau and Benin, raising fresh concerns about democratic backsliding and regional instability.