Hours before the demonstrations the minister of justice, Cheikh Tidiane Sy, announced the foiling of a coup attempt. He claimed that a number of young opposition activists, especially within the Mouvement Tekki and the Mouvement national des étudiants socialistes, had planned subversive and destabilising actions on the day of the demonstrations. However, the four individuals arrested were freed two days later, and Mr Sy received no backing from the president or the prime minister, making his sudden intervention rather embarrassing.