The recent inauguration of the new Head of State, Romuald Wadagni, has attracted media attention in recent weeks as it appears to mark a significant moment of political change. However, the central question that remains is how the new administration – which some see as a continuation of the Talon ‘system’ – will handle the pressing issues and reforms initiated by the former president.   The decade under the leadership of Head of State Patrice Talon has been a period of intense and diverse reforms, which have been met with both praise and criticism. In this instance, it is the latter sentiment that appears to be the prevailing view regarding one of the most recent reforms. Indeed, on 13 May, the Société de Radio et Télévision du Bénin – the public media service – (SRTB) announced its decision to dismiss 169 staff members. The SRTB justifies these redundancies as part of a wide-ranging plan to modernise public broadcasting, guided by a skills audit designed to align staffing levels with new performance and management requirements. Unsurprisingly, the unions were quick to speak out. The Union of Media Professionals in Benin (LUpmb) has condemned a decision that will “cause emotional distress and create a social situation with unpredictable consequences”. The Platform of Promoters and Actors for Media Development in Benin (Padem-Benin), for its part, expressed its “dismay” at a decision described as “unfair dismissal”. Faced with public criticism, which has reignited the debate over the consensual nature of the reforms undertaken under Talon, government spokesperson Wilfried Houngbédji has sought to absolve the state of responsibility in this matter. However, he acknowledged that the fact that those made redundant had received no prior information enabling them to anticipate the situation is “humanly deplorable”. In truth, it may be that the SRTB’s plan, which is creating a climate of uncertainty in Benin’s broadcasting sector, constitutes a new reform that will be criticised for a time before passing without major incident. As Benin prepares to welcome a new president, could these redundancies foreshadow a more rigorous economic management, against a backdrop of latent social discontent?

Between increased control and judicial rigour

As the government appears to be seeking to tighten its control over extractive resources, operations against illegal gold mining in the gold-bearing areas of the north of the country are becoming increasingly visible. On 11 May, a raid by Beninese security forces on the Koussigou gold site, in the Perma district of Natitingou, led to the arrest of around sixty illegal gold miners. The Koussigou site is located in a gold-bearing area now covered by an official mining licence. In October 2025, the Beninese government granted the Chinese company Xinquan Sarl a ten-year mining licence for a neighbouring site in Kouatèna. However, this intensified monitoring raises questions about the state’s ability to balance security imperatives, the legal framework for mining operations, and the management of local socio-economic dynamics.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, the Beninese judiciary continues to take a hard line against those considered to be involved, directly or indirectly, in the failed coup of 7 December 2025. It is in this context that the former opposition MP Soumaïla Sounon Boké was sentenced on 12 May 2026 to five years’ imprisonment without parole for “glorifying crimes against state security” and “inciting rebellion via electronic means” by the Court for the Suppression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (Criet). He had been arrested on 16 December and placed in pre-trial detention for having published, according to the authorities, the message “It’s party time” in a WhatsApp group a few hours after the coup was announced.

Ultimately, it would not be unreasonable to see in these various dynamics (political, economic, security-related) the manifestation of a desire to simultaneously consolidate the state’s security and economic control. This is in a context where the line between the imperative of stability and the restriction of spaces for dissent seems increasingly blurred.