On his first official visit to France since his inauguration on May 24, Romuald Wadagni is going home with several signed financing deals. Received at the Élysée on Monday, October 5, by Emmanuel Macron, the Beninese president obtained close to 100 million euros in commitments, or 65.5 billion CFA francs. The Beninese press hailed a sum raised « in one morning. » The two men know each other well: Wadagni spent years as Patrice Talon’s minister of economy and finance, and in that role he dealt regularly with Paris.
Most of the money goes through the French Development Agency, which signed two agreements worth a total of 94.4 million euros, or 61.9 billion CFA francs. Bpifrance adds 5.39 million euros, or 3.54 billion CFA francs.
Electricity takes the largest share, at 52.1 billion CFA francs. The project is meant to extend the distribution grid to 750 localities across fifteen municipalities in three departments, allowing 120,000 new connections. The aim is to narrow the gap between coastal towns, which are already well served, and the rural interior, where power is still scarce.
Agriculture and fisheries receive nearly 10 billion CFA francs. Fish farming alone takes 6.6 billion, in ten municipalities. The rest will support poultry, rabbit farming and oilseed crops in sixteen others. Benin still imports much of the fish and poultry it eats, and these are among the sectors the government most wants to develop.
The third component is more unexpected. Known as PRIAM, it provides for a national DNA analysis laboratory able to run 30,000 tests a year, in partnership with the forensic haematology laboratory in Bordeaux. More than 500 professionals are to be trained. Beninese police and magistrates will gain an identification tool the country has so far had to seek abroad.
Beyond the financing, the visit covered culture and security. Cotonou is asking for the return of 35 more cultural objects, including the throne of King Toffa of Porto-Novo and religious artefacts. The request follows the restitution of the 26 royal treasures of Abomey, which France returned in 2021. On the military side, Paris continues to train Beninese forces, which face incursions in the north by jihadist groups from the Sahel. The authorities say no French soldier is engaged in combat on Beninese soil.
Macron described a relationship built on friendship, trust and ambition, and stressed a partnership « between equals. » Paris has held to that language since losing its footing in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Against that backdrop, Benin is one of the few stable partners it has left in West Africa. For Wadagni, the visit shows that his predecessor’s economic diplomacy continues, and that he can secure funding in his own name.
The sources do not specify the exact nature of the AFD financing. If these are loans, as is usually the case, they will add to the country’s debt. No disbursement schedule has been announced.