Burkina Faso’s military said it had stripped interim president Michel Kafando of his functions and dissolved the government, seizing power in a coup less than a month before elections meant to restore democracy in the West African country.

“The president strongly condemns the coup d’état that has taken place in Burkina Faso,” French President Francois Hollande’s office said in a statement.

“He calls for the immediate liberation of all those arrested, for the interim authorities to be put back in place and for the continuation of the electoral process.”