He has detained people who post critically about him on Facebook, Wilfried Léandre Houngbedji, a spokesman for President Talon, said the president was not prosecuting his enemies, but driving out corruption.“We have a regime of rigor, a regime of responsibility,” said Mr. Houngbedji. Talon came into office in 2016, after winning 65 percent of the vote, with an agenda of sweeping out political cronyism and corruption.But critics and watchdog groups say he has since chipped away at the country’s democratic legacy.
Gas stations were burned and storefronts shattered. In Benin, protesters are still demanding the president resign after days of violent demonstrations. So, anyway, it is an annuity and it is part of the colonial rents undoubtedly.”“We must build win-win games now. Talon had once been a donor to Mr. Yayi’s political campaigns, but things between the men soured: In 2012 Mr. Talon was accused of The detention of Mr. Yayi, on grounds that he was inciting violence against the regime, set off deadly civil unrest last month. For the first time a Head of State from Africa’s CFA currency region has openly spoken about a very politically and economically sensitive subject that could ruin relationship with colonial master, France.President Patrice Talon has ordered that his country’s foreign currency reserves colonially deposited in French Central Bank be immediately withdrawn. Mr. Houngbedji, the president’s spokesman, said he was detained because he was inciting violence.In early June, police arrested some residents of Tchaourou on accusations that they were responsible for the destruction in Cotonou after the elections. “President Talon has the courage to do it so that Benin progresses.”The main cause of the most recent clashes was the rule changes Mr. Talon’s election commission made this spring to Benin’s fractured political system, which then had over 200 political parties that often fielded candidates based on ethnic identity.The new rules, ostensibly to streamline the system and encourage coalition-building, increased the amount of money required to field candidates to more than $400,000 per party. They will no longer work between Africans and Europe, between Africans and the rest of the world, but they will not work anymore.”Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. So it may take a while, but the process is ongoing,” he said while appearing on a French TV.French politicians say President Talon’s move to withdraw from Banque du France may also trigger a political blockade.“For a long time, 100% of the reserves in the CFA area were kept in the French Treasury. May 29, 2019 . Now, there is a political decision.“It will be necessary to negotiate, to enter into discussion to get the African reserves out of the Treasury. Benin's president Patrice Talon meets the French president at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2016.
For three days in early June, protesters laid siege to the eastern city of Tchaourou — the former president’s hometown — barricading roads with overturned trucks and massive iroko trees.On June 12, a squadron of 700 troops sent from Cotonou in the south arrived in Tchaourou to clear the barricades from the roads. COTONOU, Benin — After 52 days under virtual house arrest, the former president of the West African nation of Benin was set free and fled across the border to … COTONOU, Benin — After 52 days under virtual house arrest, the former president of the West African nation of Benin was set free and fled across the border to Togo last week without a word to his supporters or the media.Who had held him? The country has had peaceful transitions of power since the early 1990s, whenMr. And old models will not work. Such a decision has been a taboo and no other french colony has ever done this.All CFA zone countries are former colonies of France and have historically deposited their foreign exchange reserves to Banque de France. May 9th 2019 W ITH ONLY ... W ITH ONLY two parties on the ballot, both of them supporters of President Patrice Talon, Benin’s general election … Benoit Tessier / Reuters. Benin has placed former President Thomas Boni Yayi under virtual house arrest following his support for protests against controversial legislative elections in April, according to his lawyers. Benin President Patrice Talon Share on Facebook Share on Twitter whatsapp For the first time a Head of State from Africa’s CFA currency region has openly spoken about a very politically and economically sensitive subject that could ruin relationship with colonial master, France. The country’s current president, Patrice Talon, a businessman whose grip on the country — formerly one of Africa’s most stable democracies — has grown increasingly autocratic since his election in 2016.Benin had long prided itself on two things: its bountiful cotton crop and a robust democracy that allowed freedom of speech, fair elections and peaceful transitions of power for nearly the last three decades.But recent crackdowns on free speech, repression of political opponents, and the detention of the former president, Thomas Boni Yayi — all once unthinkable here — have sent the country reeling. Only about 25 percent of the electorate turned out, compared to Two days later, thousands of protesters marched on the president’s offices in Cotonou, the country’s economic center.