1979 — The Fall of Emperor Bokassa

On the night of September 20, 1979, French forces intervened in the Central African Empire and toppled Emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa while he was visiting Libya. French paratroopers secured Bangui's airport as former president David Dacko — whom Bokassa had overthrown in 1965 — announced the restoration of the republic on national radio.

Bokassa had crowned himself emperor in a lavish, Napoleon-style ceremony in 1977 that cost a quarter of the country's annual budget. France acted after international outrage over his alleged role in the massacre of schoolchildren who protested mandatory, overpriced uniforms made by his wife's company. Bokassa fled into exile and returned only in 1986 to face trial at home.