Cotonou woke up to chaos December 7 when a pack of soldiers barged into the national broadcaster, faces grim under berets, and Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri stepped up to the camera. Eight rebels in fatigues announced they’d toppled President Patrice Talon, dissolving all state bodies under their shiny new Military Committee for Refoundation. They rattled off gripes—jihadists spilling from the north, ignored dead troops, tax squeezes, dialysis slashed—and sealed borders while banning parties. Gunshots were heard near Talon’s Camp Guezo pad right after. French and Russian diplomats hit panic buttons, telling their folks to bolt doors. The feed blinked out after barely 60 minutes.
Benin’s Interior Minister Alassane Seidou fired back on Facebook, cool as ice: a “small soldier mutiny” got put down by the real army, loyal to the republic. Government mouthpiece Wilfried Houngbedji assured AFP that Talon was fine, calling the rebels a ragtag crew who only nabbed the TV studio. Locals spotted troops jamming the presidency, BTV and Sofitel, but the airport hummed low and streets didn’t erupt. This was Benin’s stab at drama since 1991 polls locked in democracy after French colonial mess. No body count yet, no big street fights—just a fast fizzler.
Military activity is occurring in Cotonou, Benin today, December 7, following an attempted coup. Reports include gunfire, explosions, road closures, and restricted airport operations. U.S. Embassy Cotonou is suspending all routine consular appointments scheduled for Monday,… pic.twitter.com/zqmlI1Rscr
— Travel – State Dept (@TravelGov) December 7, 2025
Uncle Sam and Global Jitters Kick In
US Embassy Cotonou dropped the hammer via tweet: military mess post-coup try—shots fired, booms, roads barricaded, airport choked. No Monday consular walk-ins; Americans told to hole up, skip mobs and ministries, eyes on local news. France shuttered its post; flights detoured around runway jams. Benin’s rep as Africa’s chill democracy took the hit amid porous frontiers and jihad shadows. Airlines scratched Benin runs, tourists scrambled.
Talon’s business roots pumped growth but brewed beef over rights curbs and elite picks. This tests ECOWAS grit post-Sahel exits, spotlights coastal firewalls against inland fire. Tigri’s crew? Vanished into thin air so far, arrests brewing. Benin dusts off, but the scars linger—another wake-up in coup country.
Sahel’s Coup Fever Hits Steady Benin
West Africa’s been a junta factory lately—Niger flipped in 2023, Burkina Faso twice in 2022, Mali and Guinea 2021, Guinea-Bissau just last month—and now stable Benin gets tagged. Talon, the cotton king turned prez since 2016, mixes boom times with iron-fist plays: rivals jailed, media muzzled, successor Adjaratou Wadagni lined up for April 2026. Rebels howled about jihad bleed from Burkina borders, rotten promotions, soldier neglect. Two Talon insiders ate 20-year bids in January for a 2024 plot. Loyalists moved like lightning, thin rebel backing their downfall.
ECOWAS stressed zero tolerance, rushing squads from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone; AU piled on for rule-of-law muscle. Nigeria jets buzzed Benin skies, helping sweep TV and camps clean per reports. Opposition firebrand Reckya Madougou slammed the blood but pushed poll watches. Talon’s crew painted it rogue grunts, not deep rot. The speed kill hints fractures but no full break. Regional watchers eye if this sparks copycats or steels defenses.
