Mokhtar Ould Daddah vs Sadi Carnot

Mokhtar Ould Daddah led Mauritania to independence from France on November 28, 1960. He became the country's first president, establishing the political framework of the new nation.

Ould Daddah amended the constitution to establish a one-party state under the Mauritanian People's Party. This move consolidated his power and eliminated political opposition.

Mauritania annexed the southern third of Western Sahara after Spain withdrew, leading to conflict with the Polisario Front. The war drained Mauritania's resources and caused economic hardship.

Ould Daddah was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek on July 10, 1978. The coup ended his 18-year rule, triggered by failures in the Western Sahara war and economic decline.

Sadi Carnot was elected President of the Third Republic. His presidency was marked by political stability and the rise of the Boulanger crisis.

Carnot faced the Boulanger crisis, a populist movement led by General Georges Boulanger that threatened the republic. Carnot's government successfully suppressed the movement, and Boulanger fled into exile.

Carnot oversaw the negotiation of the Franco-Russian Alliance, a military agreement that ended France's diplomatic isolation and created a counterbalance to the Triple Alliance.

Carnot was stabbed to death by Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio in Lyon. The assassination was in protest of French repression of anarchists.