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1979 Central African coup d'état
Date 21 September 1979 Location Central African Empire Result Coup succeeds. Bokassa I is exiled. The Central African Republic is restored.
Belligerents
House of Bokassa Armed Forces loyalists	Armed Forces rebels  France  Chad  Zaire
Commanders and leaders
Bokassa I	David Dacko Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Operation Barracuda was a military operation by France during 1979-1981, to return to power the former President of the Central African Republic, David Dacko. It followed up Operation Caban of 21 September 1979, a bloodless military operation in which Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire was overthrown by French paratrooper troupes.

History

Part of a series on the
History of the Central African Republic
Early history Kanem Empire c. 700–1380 Trans-Saharan slave trade c. 1500–1600 Sultanate of Bagirmi 1522–1897 Wadai Empire 1635–1909
Colonial period French Equatorial Africa    French Congo 1882–1910    French Chad 1900–1960    Ubangi-Shari 1903–1958    French Cameroon 1918–1960 Decolonization    Kongo-Wara rebellion 1928–1931    Brazzaville Conference 1944–0000    African Democratic Rally 1946–1958
Independence Bokassa period 1966–1979    Bokassa coup d'état 1966–0000    Central African Empire 1976–1979       Coronation of Bokassa I 1977–0000          Emperor of Central Africa Operation Caban 1979–0000    Operation Barracuda 1979–1981 Kolingba coup d'état 1981–0000 Patassé coup attempt 1982–0000
Current period General election 1993–0000 Heightened tensions 1993–1998    Bangui Peace Accords 1997–0000    United Nations Mission 1998–0000 Bush War 2004–2007    Kolingba coup attempt 2001–0000    Bozizé coup d'état 2003–0000 Civil War 2012–0000    Conflict under Djotodia 2013–2014       Fall of Bangui 2013–0000
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Barracuda was led by French Colonel Bernard Degenne, based in N'Djamena (the capital of Chad), who gave the code name Barracuda to four Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopters and four Transall C-160 transport aircraft, which carried elements of the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment to the Central African capital of Bangui. At noon, a company of the 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment from Libreville (the capital of Gabon), was also transported to Bangui.

Until November 1979, Barracuda aimed to protect French citizens in the country and the Dacko government, in addition to supporting the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) in maintaining order. Afterwards, it aimed to rebuild and instruct FACA to ensure the stability of the country. Barracuda ended in June 1981 and was replaced by the "French Elements of Operational Assistance" which remained in the Central African Republic until 1998.

Footnotes

1. (in French) Stephen Smith and Géraldine Faes, Bokassa Ier : un empereur français, Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 2000 ISBN 2-7021-3028-3.
2. Centre de doctrine d'emploi des forces (September 2015). "50 ans d'OPEX en Afrique (1964–2014)" (PDF) (in French). Cahier du Retex. pp. 30–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

• 1979 in the Central African Republic
• Central African Republic–France relations
• Military operations involving France
• Conflicts in 1979
• French involvement in regime change
• 1970s coups d'état and coup attempts
• Military coups in the Central African Republic
• 20th-century military history of France