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Benin national news in 2021 was rich and varied. It was strongly marked by the April elections, arrests of members of the political opposition, the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, jihadist attacks, and a series of political, economic, and social reforms that affected every sector. Several actors came to the fore and various circumstances arose that placed Benin at the heart of social, economic, political, judicial, security, health, and environmental debates in the sub-regional and global contexts.

In 2019, the government of President Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon continued with some of the political, economic, and social reforms considered essential for the emergence of the country, according to the ‘Bénin révélé’ programme. However, the very nature of some political reforms, and the way opposition and dissent were treated, produced a general feeling that individual and democratic freedoms were being increasingly undermined.

The year 2020 marked 60 years of Benin’s independence, which was celebrated modestly as compared with the 50th anniversary, without the traditional parade of security and defence forces, and without foreign guests. Though Benin, like other countries, had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the low-key celebrations also symbolised the relatively morose political atmosphere, resulting from the recent controversial elections.