(FILES) Men push a cart loaded with goods in the Dantokpa market, one of the largest open-air market in West Africa, in Cotonou on February 29, 2024. The increase in food costs in the small West African nation prompted Benin's labour unions to call for an unprecedented series of protests against the cost of living -- the first was dispersed by police firing tear gas and a second banned by the authorities. A third planned for Cotonou on May 11 has been granted authorisation by city officials. Benin's consumer prices and economy have been hit by fallout from the Ukraine war and by the closure of the border with major trading partner Niger to the north following a coup there last July. Neighbouring Nigeria's naira currency devaluation and abrupt end of a decades-long fuel subsidy have also impacted Benin's fuel prices and trade. (Photo by Abadjaye Justin SODOGANDJI / AFP) (Photo by ABADJAYE JUSTIN SODOGANDJI/AFP via Getty Images)