Overview
- Benin’s Republican Guard chief said French special forces flew in from Abidjan to support clearing operations after loyalist units repelled the mutineers.
- The Élysée said France provided surveillance, observation and logistical assistance at Cotonou’s request and did not confirm any special‑forces presence, while Macron coordinated information exchanges with Benin, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
- Reporting credits Nigerian airstrikes on mutineer positions, reportedly aided by French intelligence sharing, with hastening the collapse of the putsch.
- Authorities state the government reasserted control following several deaths in clashes as ECOWAS authorized deployment of its standby force to back loyalist troops.
- France pushed back against a wave of false claims, with the Foreign Ministry denying rumors that Beninese officials sought refuge at the French embassy.