Question 20007 — foreign policy

Summary

Ms. Sabine Rubin draws the attention of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs to the attitude of the Government towards the Beninese regime. Patrice Talon, president of the Republic of Benin since 2016, and long-time investor in his country's electoral campaigns, has gradually awarded his private company the most profitable markets, notably those relating to cotton, and even certain activities supposedly sovereign, such as the collection of customs revenue. It is also at the origin of a series of repressive laws, removing or restricting, for example, the right to strike for entire sectors of the economy, and therefore leaving workers more vulnerable than ever before their employers. Terrorism, of which hot news highlights the presence in the north of the country, is also fueled by its decision to abandon security from Pendjari Park to private militias. Highly unpopular, he also attacked the electoral process; its majority, composed mainly of deputies from other groups, constitutes in fact a single party: to exist, a party must have several seats in different regions, have one thousand five hundred members, submit in its name, that is to say without building an alliance, the equivalent of three hundred thousand euros as a deposit, then receive a certificate of conformity that only the Minister of the Interior can issue. The country today has more than twenty political detainees, some arrested in hospitals following repressed demonstrations, to which must be added opponents living clandestinely in their own country, those who have found refuge in France, and those who have gone into exile in neighboring countries. However, on Monday March 5 2018, the President of the French Republic declared that Patrice Talon was "welcome to France", and described Benin as "stable" and "democratic", before mentioning the multiple French investments there, that is to say the credit insurance of one hundred and seventy-five million euros from the Public Investment Bank for the construction of the Cotonou hospital center, and the one hundred and one million from the French Agency for development, supposedly aiming to develop tourism and fight against climate change. In addition to these participations by the public authorities, large French companies have invested in Benin, such as Club Med, or the Safran group, Deloitte, and Orange. To the declarations of the President of the French Republic is added that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which, on Friday May 3, 2019, after the Beninese army opened fire on a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, sent the opposition and the government back to back by calling on “all political actors to show restraint”. She asks him if he intends to condemn more firmly and unambiguously the abuses of the Patrice Talon regime, as he does not hesitate to do for other regimes, and if he is considering economic pressure through French companies benefiting from aid. public authorities of the State, in order to help find the path to dialogue and democracy.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

1. 6 September 2019

   Réponse

   Le Bénin traverse une période difficile de sa riche histoire démocratique avec la tenue d'élections législatives sans aucun candidat de l'opposition, dimanche 28 avril dernier. Pour ces élections, seuls les deux partis issus des blocs de la majorité présidentielle ont été autorisés à concourir. Selon les autorités, les partis de l'opposition et les autres partis de la majorité n'ont pas respecté les formalités d'accréditation exigées par la nouvelle charte sur les partis politique et le nouveau code électoral. Le taux de participation a été historiquement bas (27 %), alors qu'il était de 66 % aux précédentes législatives de 2015. La Cour Constitutionnelle elle-même a reconnu des "irrégularités et des perturbations" pendant le vote. Le jour du ballot, Internet et les appels internationaux ont été interrompus. La Communauté économique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO), l'Union africaine (UA), l'Union européenne (UE) et les Nations unies ont regretté le manque d'inclusivité du ballot et appelé à l'apaisement. La France, dans sa déclaration du 3 mai a déploré le taux de participation historiquement bas, ainsi que l'absence de débat national pour l'organisation d'un ballot inclusif. Elle a également regretté les violences et appelé à la reprise d'un dialogue constructif entre autorités et opposition. La France continue d'appeler à l'apaisement des tensions, en lien avec ses partenaires béninois, européens et internationaux. Elle poursuit ses messages pour qu'un climat de concorde politique, conforme à la tradition démocratique du Bénin, puisse être restauré.

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• Sabine Rubin · auteur

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