Name	Abidjan
Native name	District d'Abidjan
Settlement type	City
Motto
Image seal	AbidjanLogo.gif
Image shield	AbidjanLogo.svg
Pushpin map	Côte d'Ivoire
Pushpin label position	bottom
Pushpin mapsize	300
Pushpin map caption	Location in Côte d'Ivoire
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	CI
Coordinates footnotes
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Lagunes Region
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Pierre Djédji Amondji
Leader title1
Established title
Established date
Area total km2	2119
Area urban km2	422
Population as of	2007
Population total	3660682
Population metro	6169102
Population blank1 title	Ethnicities
Population density blank1 sq mi
Timezone	GMT
Utc offset	+0
Elevation footnotes
Elevation ft
Postal code type
Footnotes	}}

Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montréal. It has, according to the authorities of the country in 2006, 5,068,858 residents in the metropolitan area and 3,796,677 residents in the municipality. Only Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, has a larger number of inhabitants in this region. Considered a cultural hub of West Africa, Abidjan is characterized by a high level of industrialization and urbanization. The city stands in Ébrié Lagoon, on several converging peninsulas and islands, connected by bridges.

The city grew after the construction of a new wharf in 1931 and its designation as the capital of the then French colony in 1933. The completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled it to become an important sea port. In 1983, Yamoussoukro was designated as the nation's capital, but most government offices and foreign embassies are still in Abidjan.

Geography

Abidjan lies on the south-east coast of the country in the Gulf of Guinea. The city lies on the Ébrié Lagoon. The business district Le Plateau is the centre of the city, along with Cocody', Deux Plateaux (the wealthiest neighborhood and a hubbub for diplomats), and the slum of Adjamé on the north shore of the lagoon. Treichville and Marcory lie to the south, Commune d' Attecoube by its extension to Locodjro and Abobo Doume and Yopougon to the west, and Gbagba and N'Gbotroya (Locodjro) called today Boulay Island in the middle of the lagoon. Further south lies Port Bouët, home to the airport and main seaport. Abidjan is located at 5°25' North, 4°2' West (5.41667, −4.03333).

Climate

The city has a tropical monsoon climate with a long rainy season from May through July, a short rainy season (September–November) and two dry seasons, though rain is seen even during the dry season. Abidjan is generally humid throughout the year, with humidity generally at or higher than 80 percent. During the rainy season it can rain continuously for several consecutive days, or intensely for over an hour. The rainfall is abundant at about 2,000 mm per year. The monthly rainfall varies between about 40 mm and 500 mm in January to June and the temperature is almost constant at around .

Territorial division

Abidjan is composed of two parts (northern Abidjan and southern Abidjan) with ten communes.

Northern Abidjan

Abobo : the town consists mainly of public housing. It has long played the role of refuge for migrants with low financial means. This area has developed spontaneously around the station.

* Williamsville

Adjamé : Although small in size, this commune is very important for the Ivorian economy, given the number of commercial activities taking place there. Unfortunately, Adjame experiences problems of sanitation. The village Ébrié existed before Abidjan developed. Its market is the realm of shops of all kinds and its bus station is the main crossing bus lines that feed the country and neighbouring countries.

Yopougon : it is the most populated commune of Abidjan, lying partly in Northern Anidjan and partly across the lagoon in Southern Abidjan. It is home to industrial and residential areas. The research station ORSTOM, Pasteur Institute and a teaching hospital are established

Plateau : the business centre with tall buildings looks very modern in Abidjan. Although the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire has been officially transferred to Yamoussoukro in 1983, the institutions of the republic such as the Presidency and National Assembly are still in Plateau. It is the main administrative commercial and financial center of Côte d'Ivoire.

Attécoubé : Banco forest, classified as a national park, is located within this commune. A massive shopping complex, probably the largest in Abidjan, has been built there.

Cocody : famous for its residential districts (2-Trays, Riviera), Cocody University also has the same name (University of Cocody – public institution) and some private universities. Home Television (RTI) is located in Cocody. The President of the Republic resides in this commune. Cocody is also the embassy's district.

Southern Abidjan

Koumassi : This commune has an important industrial area.

Marcory : This commune is mainly a residential area.

* Biétry and Zone 4 are residential areas where many foreigners live

Port-Bouët : This commune includes both a refinery (Ivorian Company Refining CRS) and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport. There is also an established office of the IRD, the centre of Little Bassam. His famous lighthouse sweeps the Gulf of Guinea on several nautical miles.

* Vridi : the beach area is busy every weekend, although the ocean is very aggressive the "bar" does a little to move away from the shore, a phenomenon widely along the Gulf of Guinea. From 1950, Vridi has become the main employment areas in Abidjan because of the increasing number of factories and warehouses

Treichville : This commune is home to the Autonomous Port of Abidjan and many shops. The port area is also an industrial area. There is also the pool of State Treichville (PET), the palace of sports Treichville, the Palace of Culture, street 12, racetrack Abidjan...

* Île Boulay.

Suburbs

The main towns which are near Abidjan are Jacqueville, Grand-Lahou and Dabou in the west, Sikensi, Tiassalé, Agboville, Adzopé and Aleppo in the north, and Grand-Bassam to the east.

The towns of Songon, Bingerville and Anyama were incorporated in 2001 into the Department of Abidjan.

Origin of the name "Abidjan"

According to oral tradition Ébrié reported in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Côte d'Ivoire, the name of Abidjan, Abidjan at the time, was invented as a misunderstanding. A legend narrated that an old man returning from his farm with his arm filled with branches probably intended to repair the roof of his house, met him on his way to ruin a European explorer who asked him the name of the nearest village. The old man did not speak the language of the white man thought he understood that he wondered what he was doing in those places. Terrorized by this unexpected meeting, he fled shouting "min-chan m'bidjan", which means language Ébrié: "I just cut the leaves." The white man thought he had the answer to his question carefully and wrote down on his notepad ''Abidjan''.

A slightly different and less elaborate version of the legend: When the first colonists asked a native man the name of the place, the man misunderstood and replied "M'bi min djan": "I've just been cutting leaves".

History

Colonial era

Abidjan was originally a small fishing village. In 1896, following a series of deadly yellow fever epidemics, the French colonists who first settled in Bassam decided to move to a safer place. Their movement was followed by the colonial government created in 1899, although nearby Bingerville became capital of the French colony from 1900 until 1934.

The future Abidjan, situated on the edge of the ''lagoon n'doupé'' ("the lagoon in hot water, "future "Ébrié Lagoon"), offered more space and greater opportunities for trade expansion. The wharf in Petit Bassam (now Port-Bouet) south of the town, quickly overtook in importance the wharf of Grand-Bassam, hitherto the main economic access to the colony. From 1904, when Bingerville was not yet complete, Abidjan became the main economic hub of the colony of Côte d'Ivoire and a prime channel for distributing products to the European hinterland, particularly through the Lebanese community which was increasingly important.

Henri Terrasson de Fougères became governor of French Sudan in 1924, and remained the governor until his death in 1931. One of the main streets of Abidjan still bears his name.

In 1931, Plateau and what became Treichville were connected approximately at the position of the bridge Houphouet Boigny by a floating bridge. That year, it was first addressed as the streets of Abidjan. It temporarily held the name in 1964, under the leadership of Mayor Konan Kanga, completed by the Americans in 1993.

Abidjan became the third capital of Côte d'Ivoire, after Grand-Bassam and Bingerville by a decree on 10 August 1933. Several villages in Tchaman were then deserted. It is particularly Adjame ("center" in Tchaman), located at the north of the Plateau, which is still the leader of the Tchaman community.

South of the Plateau district (the current central district of the city of Abidjan), the village of ''Dugbeo'' was moved across the lagoon to Anoumabo, "the forest of fruit bats", which became the neighborhood of Treichville (now Commikro). This area was thus renamed in 1934 in honour of Marcel Treich-Laplénie (1860–1890), the first explorer of Côte d'Ivoire and its first colonial administrator, considered its founder. Instead of Dugbeyo, is the current Treich Laplénie Avenue, the bus station and water lagoon buses in Plateau, and the Avenue Charles de Gaulle (commonly called Rue du Commerce).

The city was laid out like the usual colonial towns on the basis of a rather utopian plan. Le Plateau ("m'brato" in Tchaman) was inhabited by settlers. In the north, the city was inhabited by the colonized. The two zones were separated by the Gallieni Military Barracks, instead of the current courthouse.

Near the port and along a petanque, originally named Boulevard de Marseille, facetious settlers who had "borrowed" a street sign of a famous street of Marseille renamed the street Canebière, a sand track. This is the legend behind the first Blohorn oil mills, in Cocody. A racetrack was built in the south of the city that never stops growing.

Le Plateau in the 1940s, the hotel grew and became Bardon Park Hotel, the first air-conditioned hotel working in francophone Africa.

After independence

After independence in 1960, the old settler town became the administrative center and business headquarters of the Presidency. The axis south of Treichville, towards the international airport and the beaches, became the headquarters of European and middle-class Abidjan. There, in November 2004, focus was on the anti-French riots and looting. The Cocody district, famous for a gentleman embodied in film by Jean Marais, which should be a vast indigenous district according to the colonial urban pattern, became an upscale neighborhood including the presidential residence, the embassy of France, Hotel Ivorian (which for a long time, was the only African hotel to have a skating rink), and since 2006, the largest U.S. embassy in Africa. Large areas have grown popular among these clusters, extended by areas of poor housing and poverty fed by the rural exodus and sub-regional immigration.

In 1983 the village of Yamoussoukro (literally the city of Queen Yamoussoukro) became the new political capital of Ivory Coast under the leadership of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny who was born in Yamoussoukro.

Since 1999, Abidjan has been penalized by the political and economic Ivorian disaster. Since the 80s, despite undeniable improvements and because of the negligence of officials, corruption as well as general degradation of the city of Abidjan has been prevalent. In 2006, the mass poisoning of people by pollutants dumped in landfills are illustrations of an inevitable drama. (case of the Probo Koala).

Politics

Administration

Organisation

Formerly managed by the French "colonial administration", Abidjan became a municipality in 1956, and was divided into administrative areas by lagoons. Its first municipal council was elected on 18 November 1956, and the first mayor in the context of the Framework Law of 1956 was president Félix Houphouët-Boigny. A law of 1978 established twenty-seven municipalities full year in the country. After the application of this new organization, Dioulo Emmanuel was elected mayor of Abidjan on 30 November 1980.

{| rules="all" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" style="margin:auto; border:1px solid #999; border-right:2px solid #999; border-bottom:2px solid #999; background:#f3fff3;" |+ style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"|List of successive mayors |- style="background:#dfd;" ! Date of election !! Name !! Party !! Background !! Status |- |align=right|1956 ||Félix Houphouët-Boigny || style="text-align:center;"|PDCI-RDA ||Politician||Elected |- |align=right| ||Antoine Filidori |||||Industry ||Appointed |- |align=right| ||Jean Porquet |||||Industry ||Appointed |- |align=right| ||Antoine Konan Kanga || style="text-align:center;"|PDCI-RDA||Politician||Appointed |- |align=right|1980 ||Emmanuel Dioulo || style="text-align:center;"|PDCI-RDA||Politician||Elected |- |align=right|1985 ||Mobio N'Koumo || style="text-align:center;"|PDCI-RDA||Politician ||Elected |}

Since 2001, the city has been run as a department divided into ten municipalities (communes) and with three new sub-prefectures at Anyama, Bingerville and Songon. The post of Mayor of Abidjan was replaced by the District Governor, appointed by the head of state. The position has been occupied by Pierre Djedji Amondji since 2002. However, each of the ten municipalities of Abidjan has its own municipal council headed by a mayor. The last municipal elections were held in March 2001.

{|class=wikitable |- ! Commune ! Mayor ! Political party |- |Abobo |Adama Toungara |RDR |- |Adjamé |Youssouf Sylla |RDR |- |Attécoubé |Danho Paulin |PDCI-RDA |- |Cocody |Jean-Baptiste Gomont Diagou |FPI |- |Plateau |Akossi Noel Bendjo |PDCI-RDA |- |Yopougon |Gbamnan Djidan Jean Félicien |FPI |- |Treichville |François Amichia |PDCI-RDA |- |Koumassi |N'Dohi Yapi Raymond |PDCI-RDA |- |Marcory |Marcellin Akanda Assi |FPI |- |Port-Bouët |Hortense Aka-Anghui |PDCI-RDA |}

The communes of Abobo, Adjamé, Attécoubé, Cocody, and Plateau are located north of the Ébrié Lagoon (hence the name "Abidjan North"). This is the continental part of Abidjan. The commune of Yopougon straddles the lagoon, with part lying north and part south of that body of water. The communes of Treichville, Koumassi, Marcory and Port-Bouet in Abidjan are south of the lagoon.

Blokosso and Locodjro villages are included within the city and maintain cultural identity in urban areas.

Places of interest

The University of Abidjan, several technical colleges, and the National Library of Côte d'Ivoire and National museum are in the city.

Sights in Abidjan include St Paul's Cathedral, designed by Aldo Spirito, the Cocody Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art and the Parc du Banco rainforest reserve. Le Plateau is known for its skyscrapers, unusual in West Africa.

''Le Plateau'' is the business centre of Abidjan. With its gleaming skyscrapers, chic boutiques and outdoor cafes, le Plateau is a favourite place of business travellers. There are many different banks located in the ''le Plateau'' district.

Government institutions

The majority of Ivorian government institutions are still located in Abidjan until the end of the transfer of the Ivorian capital Yamoussoukro: the President's office in Cocody, the parliament, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation, Council state and the court of accounts), the Chancellery of the National Order. However, the current president, Laurent Gbagbo, elected in 2000, decided to give effect to the project of making the political capital Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire, despite the events since 2002. This recent decision is a consensus on the part of the country's political leaders.

Government offices are located in Le Plateau in the administrative district of Abidjan, Boulevard Carde or Angoulvant Boulevard (near the Cathedral of St. Paul of Abidjan), or elsewhere in the great buildings of the town.

Security

Since 2004, when virtually all prisoners of Abidjan (MACA ...) are released from prison, insecurity has increased significantly: increase in crimes and misdemeanors, increased drug seizures. Besides the presence of the police, gendarmerie, the impartial forces (UNOCI whose headquarters are in Attécoubé and a large base to Biétry), French soldiers based in Port-Bouet and the Ivorian army, were created in the 2000 by the CECOS and several private security firms.

In 2007, ''Permanent Danger'' by Pierre Laba a film about the laxity of the police against the banditry in major African cities in the image of the Ivorian capital was out in cinema

Police

Abidjan is divided into districts, each of which has a police station. The municipal police and national police are distinguished.

The police's training center (National Police Academy) located in the town of Cocody, where all police are trained. They are recruited by competitive examination held by the police administration. The policy includes several sections, it is the BAE (Anti Riot Squad), whose base is located in the Yopougon north of the city, the CRS (Republican Security Company), whose main base is located in Williamsville (Adjame) also includes a secondary base called CRS2 which is located in zone 4 in the town of Marcory (central capital).

The Force and CECOS (Command Center Security Operations) accompany the police.

The main base of the gendarmerie is Agban (common Adjamé), another in Abobo and Kumasi, It also has training school "School de Gendarmerie" in Cocody and the city.

Drugs

Since 2000, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced a sharp rise in drug trafficking. The drug dens occur mainly in informal settlements as rail or behind Abobo Adjamé Bramokoté. Surveys show that the drug comes from Asia responding to a recent spike in demand among young unemployed and Ivorian vagrants. The Ivorian police are increasingly focused on the fight against trafficking and drug use in the district of Abidjan. A report by the Office of the UN says the West Africa plays an increasingly important transit of cocaine to the Latin American Europe. According to an investigation by the commission for the fight against drug trafficking UN, 46 percent of youth in West Africa is dependent on the drug. In May 2007, seven drug houses were dismantled and 191 people arrested including a military officer..

French military base

Abidjan is home to Port-Bouet, one of the six French military bases that still exist in Africa (Dakar, Libreville, Bouar CAR, N'Djamena and Djibouti). Thousands of people live there, around the 43rd BIMA which is permanently parked in accordance with established defense agreements 24 April 1961 linking the two countries The presence of the French military base on the territory of Ivory Coast.

Relationships and partnerships

Diplomacy and international bodies

Abidjan is the regional headquarters of major international institutions: UNICEF, UN Development Program, World Health Organization, World Food Program, UNOPS, UNFPA, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), etc.

The great nations of the world all have representation in Abidjan, most of which serve sub-region

The American Embassy is located in Côte d'Ivoire while the African Development Bank (ADB) moved for a while to Tunisia, which is the largest financial institution in Africa.

Sister cities

Abidjan is sister cities with:

20px Tianjin, China

20px|France Marseille, France

20px São Paulo, Brazil

20px|États-Unis d'Amérique San Francisco, US

20px|France Alfortville, France (''twinned with cocody'')

20px Kumasi, Ghana (''twinned with Treichville'')

20px Pontault-Combault, France (''twinned with Anyama'')

Miscellaneous

In the 1980s, Jean-Bédel Bokassa took refuge after his ouster from power in the Central Africa Republic.

Society

The 1998 Census revealed Abidjan's population to be 2,877,923. Estimates for the population of the Abidjan metropolitan area vary between 4 and 5 million inhabitants. As Abidjan is inhabited by people from a wide array of different ethnicities, the French language is used as the language of communication in the metropolitan area, which is the third-largest French speaking metropolitan area in the world after Paris and Kinshasa. A specific colloquial Abidjan French has even appeared, with a pronunciation and some colloquial words distinct from standard French. The area of Abidjan is recognized as one of only two areas in Africa where French (colloquial Abidjan French) is truly a native tongue, the other one being Libreville, Gabon.

Demographics

The figures as of 2006 estimate the Abidjanaise population at 3,796,677. In 2006, the metropolitan area of Abidjan had 5,060,858 inhabitants. This population increase can be attributed to the displacement caused by the war (since September 2002). This city has many inhabitants who come to live downtown because they seek employment and safer lodgings.

{| rules="all" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" style="margin:auto; border:1px solid #999; border-right:2px solid #999; border-bottom:2px solid #999; background:#f3fff3;" |+ style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"|Demographic evolution |- style="background:#dfd;" ! 1920 !! 1946 !! 1970 !! 1978 !! 1998 !! 2003 |- | 1,000 || 48,000 || 500,000 || 1,200,000 || 3,125,890 || 3,660,682 |- | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| Numbers since 1920: Population without duplication |} By 1950, Abidjan had just exceeded a population of 50,000 (at the end of 1948). Reaching a population of a million by the end of 1975, the city grew at a rate of 10 to 12% per year: a doubling every 6 or 7 years. However, this growth underwent a sharp decline due to the crises of the 1980s and 1990s. In the last 20 years of the 20th century, the growth rate dropped to 3–6%. Growth by birth rate was supplemented by migration, with the influx being substantial and the outflow only partly compensating the arrivals. Positive migration, prior to the census of 1988, contributed a growth of about 80,000 with 50,000 people from within Côte d'Ivoire, and about 30,000 from abroad per year. From within Côte d'Ivoire, the migration pattern was dominated by Akan (South-east, 48%), then Mandé (North-west, 24%) and Krou (South-west, 20%). From abroad, the migration was Burkinabes (30%), Malians (22%), Ghanaians (19%), Nigerien (11%), and Guineans (9%). It should be noted that of the Non-African migration, Lebanese migration exceeded that of Europeans, with the French being largest of these. All in all, non-African migration represents hardly 3% of the total population of Abidjan, which is still the highest in the area.

The last population census in the country took place in 1998. It presented 2,877,948 inhabitants for the city.

The figures for 2006 estimated the population of Abidjan to 3,796,677 inhabitants, while the larger metropolitan area of Abidjan had 5,060,858 inhabitants. This population increase is mainly due to war-displaced since the events of September 2002. The town hosts many people in search of both jobs and a more secure

It planned to hold a new census in 2008.

Languages

The traditional language of the city was Ébrié. Since independence, the official language in Abidjan and throughout Côte d'Ivoire is French. French spoken in Abidjan is called French or French Ivorian Popular moussa. This differs from the standard French pronunciation. Another form of spoken French in Abidjan is nouchi which is a kind of popular slang in youth. The lingua franca, spoken and understood by most of the trading population of Abidjan, is the Dioula. Finally, the city hosts many Ivorians from all over the country, all the vernacular languages of the country, about sixty, are spoken the l'attié, le baoulé, le bété, le wobé

Abidjan is still surrounded by more than thirty villages where primarily Baulé and Ébrié are spoken.

Education

In Côte d'Ivoire, the enrollment rate is 74 percent and access to secondary education is limited by an entrance in the sixth stage after which 1 / 3 of students is allowed to continue their studies 24percent of the student population resides in Abidjan .out of 20percent of the population. Abidjan is the location of the main educational institutions in Côte d'Ivoire. These includes the Lycée Classique d'Abidjan, the Lycée Sainte-Marie de Cocody Lycée Boy Bingerville Mami Adjoua the Lyceum, the school-Blaise Pascal Abidjan is a French school (mean school French school who signed an agreement with the ADFE.

Health

The city has a care package complete. Besides, many traditional medicine establishments sell old drugs in the street. There are numerous health centers and pharmacies, many pharmacopoeias. The city has more than fifty clinics, and over sixty specialist (veterinary, dermatology, dental, optometry, motherhood, psychology, pediatrics, etc.).

Urbanism and habitat

Modern districts like Plateau or Cocody have developed like those in Europe with the construction of large office towers, apartment buildings between the 1970s and the mid-1980.

Traditional neighborhoods like Treichville or Marcory maintained the system of "concessions" where housing is adjacent to the plant and the system of "court" group of which several houses, within the normal organization and multi centuries-old villages Africans.

The district of Cocody is also home to many single-storey wooden villas, surrounded by vast gardens where there is lush vegetation fed by heavy rains that water the city. Recently, it became "fashionable" for wealthier inhabitants to construct villas in imitation of Greek temples in this district. In addition, many houses were built on stilts on the edge of the Ébrié Lagoon.

The town hall, a fine example of modernist architecture, was designed by architect Henry Chomette.

Problems with urban network

The urban network is disrupted as Abidjan has seen its population double every seven years since 1945. Rural people attracted by the opportunities of the future of the city form the bulk of inward migration. Abidjan represents 45 percent of city dwellers in Ivory Coast and 20 percent of the overall population. However, if a significant rise was observed for half a century, its growth would not have been more than 4.5 percent per year (compared to 10 percent from 1960 to 1990) and we find more than one third of Rural involved in the growth of the city (two thirds from 1960 to 1990). Despite this decline, the city is still the most populated in comparison to the second largest city in the country, Bouaké (1,500,000 inhabitants) or the political capital, Yamoussoukro (100,000 inhabitants)

Urban squalor

Despite the case of the Probo Koala-2006, sanitary conditions which affect Africa could be solved in Abidjan. Indeed, a contract was signed between China and Côte d'Ivoire: a Chinese company handling urban waste and industrial plans to treat all waste district this transformation also create daily cleaning. The project is funded 60 percent by China and 40 percent by Côte d'Ivoire. A gigantic waste treatment center is built at Attengué. 15,000 permanent jobs and 5,000 seasonal jobs will be created through this project.

Urban rehabilitation

The last building program of roads in Abidjan, led to the consolidation of certain roads in the capital in 1994. Since May 2007, the company Ageroute (Road Management Agency) is undertaking major operations in Abidjan and Anyama. These works relating to roads badly damaged, suffering from lack of maintenance, and heavy rain events, gutters, roads not tarred. The District and BNETD plan to rehabilitate and construct 400 to 500 kilometers, providing them with a quality 15 to 20 years of life.

Improvements include the rehabilitation of roads in Abidjan and Anyama, construction of drains, the tarring of gravel roads and sanitation of the city by the construction of sewers. These rehabilitations affect all municipalities in Abidjan:

In Cocody, at a cost of 3 billion CFA francs, was taken to the reconstruction of the Corniche, one of the busiest routes in the municipality. Reconstruction has been extended by the dam of the limit, located at the crossroads of life, to filter all runoff from their waste before they throw themselves into the lagoon.

At Yopougon, the rehabilitation nerve Sand continues with the construction of a culvert 200 feet long designed to slow the streaking wastewater, the main cause of degradation pathways.

In Abobo extent of degradation of the road requires a significant investment in manufacturing and installation of gutters to ensure proper sanitation. The rehabilitation of roads and highways continues.

Economy

The principal stock exchange of the country, the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), is located in the city. Air Ivoire has its head office in Abidjan.

Prior to its dissolution, Air Afrique was headquartered in Abidjan.

Industry

Major industries include food processing, lumber, automobile manufacturing, and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, and soap. There is also a large oil refinery. Kalys Engineering (www.kalysengineering.com), a US based company presided by an ivorian is initiating a homegrow business in Civil Engineering, Environment and the production of Clean Energy from biomass and Municipal Solid Waste. In the nearly year, Kalys Engineering, in partnership with Groupe Eoulee and US world class companies, will get the Akouedo landfill in the production of the Electricity and/or bio-fuel from an average of 1,000 tons/day garbage dumped over 3,000 tons/day generated by the town of Abidjan.

The region of the lagoons is the most industrialized region of the country.

Its industries are mainly Construction and Maintenance with the presence of major international groups: the furnace SETAO, Colas, Bouygues, Jean Lefebvre, and Swiss Holcim.

There are textile industries with the packaging of the grown cotton in the north either for export or for on-site processing of cloth, canvas, batik clothing and miscellaneous. The textile sector is very dynamic, representing 15.6percent of net investment, 13percent of turnover and 24percent of the value added of Ivorian industry.

There are several oil wells off the coast offshore operations (Côte d'Ivoire is an oil producing country, even if it is not self-sufficient in this area), which leads to the presence chemical industry with refineries pétrole, et un port pour hydrocarbures., and a port for oil. It also works on stones and precious metals for exportation.

The city also has a large wood processing activity mainly at the port by river from the forests of central Canada. It is exported either as natural as mahogany which was already sold two centuries ago by the English Victorian or in a semi-industrialized: peeled wood, plywood, chipboard.

In the food industry mainly include: the production of oil palm, processing of bergamot and Seville oranges, processing of rubber from plantations in the west, the manufacture of beverages from pineapples, oranges and mangoes, and especially the roasting of coffee, robust type, came from the plantations of the West whose country is the third largest producer, behind Colombia and Brazil as well as packaging and processing of cocoa, including Ivory Coast's, the world's leading producer to Ghana and Indonesia. (37 percent of cocoa and 10percent of coffee products undergo at least one first local processing). Abidjan is also the first African tuna port, and three plants condition tuna primarily for the European market. This activity generates about 3,000 salaried jobs, and is an important source of foreign exchange.

As in all countries of the Third World developing countries, much of the city's economy lies in what economists describe as informal economy with its many "odd jobs".

Tertiary sector

The development of tertiary industry, with the establishment of international commercial banks and the increasing number of service companies of all types, appears to be the trend of recent years. Abidjan is the main financial center of French West Africa. The seat of the common purse of West Africa (BRVM) is located in Abidjan. BRVM is mainly dominated by Ivorian firms.

Electricity

The thermal power plant Azito, built in 1997 in partnership with EDF, located on the Yopougon on the edge of the lagoon and facing Ébrié Island Boulay, alone provides 300 MW. Two other power plants, built in 1984 and 1985, are installed in Vridi. Several utilities are installed in Abidjan: SOPIE which is a corporation State, ICE and SOPREL, subsidiaries of the French group SAUR (Côté d'Ivoire produces all the electricity it consumes, and exports to neighboring countries, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso through the interconnection.

The production, which increases steadily, and gas storage are provided by two state companies: PETROCI and GESTOCI. A small industry of renewable energy production has also developed.

Telecommunication and ICT

The city has a powerful fixed telephony network of 450,000 lines (in 2004) managed by ''Côte d'Ivoire Telecom''. Broadband Internet connections, leased lines and ADSL are powered by various providers: Aviso Ivory Coast Telecoms. Africa is Line, Globe Access, Afnet, and as the news portal www.abidjan24.net

Banking system

Abidjan is home to all the representatives of international financial institutions: World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank, BOAD, etc. Banking Commission of WAEMU regional stock exchange securities subsidiaries of major international banks: BNP Paribas, General bank, Crédit Lyonnais, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays, etc. Sixteen national banks (SGBCI, BICI, etc.) maintaining a network of 170 branches, seven financial institutions and more than thirty insurance companies make a financial competitive Abidjan that animates the entire West Africa.

Transportation

Trains on the line to Ouagadougou run from several stations in the city, the most important being in Treichville. Ferries link Treichville, Abobo-Doumé and Le Plateau. Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport serves the city.

Transport

SOTRA (Abidjan Transport Company) ensure regular urban transportation in Abidjan via bus, taxi and luggage Line Express.

Sotra has announced the start of work for the use of light rail to Abidjan. The project has three phases at a cost of 125 billion CFA francs for a long loop of 32 km.

Taxis

It is very difficult to imagine the streets of the city without cabs. There are two kinds: the taxi-meter, color orange, which can travel throughout the city, and woro-woro, yellow and green or blue or orange depending on the commune, which are limited to a neighborhood. They are often used in taxi mode

Airport

Abidjan International Airport has a large capacity that allows it to accommodate all existing large aircraft. Abidjan is located an hour's flight from all the capitals of the sub-region. Abidjan is served by major airlines in the direction of the great capitals of the world. Headquarters of the former multinational African Air company, Abidjan knows a traffic of nearly 900 000 passengers (1995 figure)

Circulation

The District has several paved streets and boulevards linking the towns between them and the District across the country. Abidjan has a network of urban bypasses.

River transport is already consistent with the fishing smacks and the many boat-buses connecting the various neighborhoods of the city thrives plan lagoon.

Abidjan is also the bridgehead of the country's only highway linking the city to the administrative and political capital, Yamoussoukro.

Port

Abidjan has the biggest port in the sub-region (West Africa), which is also the second biggest in Africa; the biggest being in Lagos. It is a container transshipment port and was opened in 1951 in the presence of the Minister of Overseas and Colonies at the time, François Mitterrand. Thanks to the 15m deep Vridi Canal, boats with large draughts can dock in the deep-water port.

The Côte d'Ivoire is in the Franc Zone (where the currency is CFA francs), as part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Abidjan is the economic centre of both the Côte d'Ivoire and of the whole region, including Burkina Faso and Mali; this is mainly because of its deep-water port, which opened in 1951. The road network in Abidjan (5,600 km asphalted in 1995, compared to 1,000kmm in 1970), which covers the whole region, effectively increases its port activity as 50% of the business from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger pass through it.

Abidjan receives the bulk of the country's industrial activity; its port alone receiving 60% of ivory park industry. Abidjan's ambitions of oil-production must be noted (off-shore production and especially refining and distribution). In 1995 the port received 12 million tonnes of traffic, of which 5.5 million tonnes were petroleum products.

Bridges

The two halves of the city, Northern Abidjan and Southern Abidjan, are joined by the Houphouët-Boigny andCharles de Gaulle bridges. These two bridges are located between Treichville and Le Plateau.Charles de Gaulle Bridge extends over the immense Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Boulevard which leads to the airport. Unfortunately, their capacity is markedly insufficient, especially during rush hour times or on the occasion of police and military roadblocks, when there is immense traffic congestion. This assessment prompted the government to consider a construction project for a third possible bridge which would be located between Cocody and Marcory. However, due to political upheavals which the country has been experiencing since December 1999, these plans have been suspended, and according to the Minister for Infrastructure of the government under Guillaume Soro, they should have been taken up again in 2008. Yet the project had already been started: people had been relocated and buildings had been destroyed in Marcory, opposite the ''Mille Maquis'' (the famous restaurant ''la Bâche bleue'' was moved).

Trains and trams

The city is the foothold for the region's only railway: the Abidjan-Ouagadougou line, with stations in Treichville, Abobo and Adjamé. This line only has two trains, the ''Gazelle'' and the ''Bélier'', and links the two capitals in about 40 hours.

The most recent project in Abidjan is one for an electric train which is promised by the Ivory Society of Railroads (SICF).

The development of infrastructural projects has been envisaged, including a suburban train system in Abidjan which is estimated to cost almost 100 billion CFA francs. This suburban train system would link the North-West to the East and North of the city. The project extends over 25 km of railway tracks which were used by the operator Sitarail, a subsidiary company of the Bolloré group. The infrastructural works (tracks, electrification, and civil engineers) have been estimated at 40 billion CFA francs, financed by the State of Côte d'Ivoire and backers (World Bank and the French Development Agency). In addition, a BOT concession contract would be given to a private operator, over 20–30 years, to operate the network. This operator will be in charge of the acquisition of railway materials, workshop renovation and the implementation of an organisational system. The concession contract has been estimated at around 60 billion CFA francs.

Tourism

Abidjan is a unique city in Africa. Its nicknames, such as "Manhattan of the tropics", "Small Manhattan" or "Pearl of the lagoons", explain the city's unpredictable and triumphant image. With its accommodation facilities – such as the Golf Hôtel – and sporting facilities, its lively night life, transport and communication lines as well as its impressiveness, it is the perfect city for business tourism.

Abidjan also has beaches around the lagoon, with palm and coconut trees, in the Vridi area, which are very popular at weekends with the picturesque sight of the pineapple and coconut sellers. Nevertheless, the "ban phenomenon", which affects practically the whole of the Gulf of Guinea's coast, means that in this area swimming is not usually allowed.

Generally, in the Côte d'Ivoire, tourism has never really been developed as an economic industry; the country does not appear among common holiday destinations.

Parc du Banco (Banco National Park)

Converted in 1926, this park has 3,000 hectares and ancient "sacred wood" lies at the entrance to the city, in the Attécoubé community, which has been conserved as a relic of the first forest which surrounded the lagoon in the past. A tarmaced road goes straight to the lake at the heart of the park and trails go throughout it. The park is inhabited and there are coffee and cocoa plantations.

At the edge of the park, a small river serves as a wash-house where the ''fanicos'', laundry men, work after collecting the laundry from the whole of the city. It is one of the ‘small jobs’ which exist in Abidjan.

Night life

Overall, the night life in Abidjan is considered to be one of the liveliest in the whole of Africa.

The district has an abundance of night-clubs, maquis, out-door areas and go-go bars. These entertainment platforms provide a musical ‘pipeline’ encompassing mainly DJs, Coupé Décalé and Zouglou, and, in lesser amounts, other local and international varieties.

Formerly containing only local traditional varieties, Congolese music and Western music, Abidjan's night life has experienced a positive cultural disruption in its music since the start of the 2000s, with the arrival of Coupé Décalé.

Indeed, this musical genre was introduced in 2002 by Douk Saga and JetSet, with the help of Sagacité, created a phenomenon which has not stopped spreading and reaching out to the hot nights in the capitals of the sub-region. It has given a cultural identity, globally identifiable, to entertainment ‘Made in Côte d'Ivoire’.

The very popular Zouglou additionally benefits "Wôyô" spaces; furnished and dedicated so that the most famous, the Internat at Fitini's and the Lycee at Vieux Gazeur's, attract ‘zouglouphiles’ the whole weekend.

Treichville, with its many maquis, discothèques and jazz clubs, used to be the liveliest area in the city, but since the end of the 90s Youpougon, Marcory and Cocody have taken over this role.

Culture

Religious buildings

The Treichville mosque, the Cocody mosque, the Plateau Mosque, and Saint-Paul's Cathedral in Abidjan, created by the architect Aldo Spirito and inaugurated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, make up the city's main religious buildings. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan.

Monuments and museums

The National Library of Côte d'Ivoire

In Cocody:

The Goethe Institute.

The Municipal Museum.

* The American Culture Centre (CCA)

The Ki Yi M'Bock Village (in the Riviera).

Cocody Museum of Contemporary Art.

* Point d'Orgue, private music education centre

In Plateau:

* The French Cultural Centre (CCF)

* The Ivory Coast Museum of Civilisations

* The National Museum: presents a collection of Ivory Coast art (statues, masks, jewellery, tools, carved doors, tom-toms and musical instruments from every region in the country). It is free entry, but there is the possibility of a voluntary donation when you leave.

In Treichville:

* The Sports Palace

The Cultural Palace.

* The Abidjan artisanal centre (CAVA)

Cinema

Festivals

Each year film festivals are organised in Abidjan: The Clap-Ivoire Festival, the Spanish Film Festival, the Ivory Coast National Film Festial (FESNACI) – the first of which was organised in 2007, the short film festival (FIMA), which has been organised since 1998 by Hanni Tchelley, the Abidjan Israeli Film Festival; the fourth one took place in 2006 in the Goethe Institute.

Abidjan in cinema

Several films depict or are devoted to the city:

''Le Sixième doigt'', a film by Henri Duparc.

''Bronx-Barbès'' by Eliane Delatour released in 2000.

''Caramel'' a film byHenri Duparc with Adrienne Koutouan, Fortuné Akakpo.

''Rue Princesse'' a film by Henri Duparc with Félicité Wouassi, Akissi Delta, Gérard Essomba released in 1993. ''Danger Permanent'' a film by Pierre Laba with Michel Bohiri, Michel Gohou, Adrienne Koutouan, Jimmy Danger.

''Un homme pour deux sœurs'' a film by Marie-Louise Asseu released in 2007, with Bétika, Jimmy Danger, Michel Gohou

''Le gentleman de Cocody'' a film by Christian-Jaque released in 1964, with Jean Marais, Philippe Clay, Robert Dalban, Jacques Morel, Gil Delamare, Maria Grazia Buccela, Nancy Holloway and Liselotte Pulver.

''Le virus'', a film by Bleu Brigitte released in December 2007, with Fortuné Akakpo, Fanta Coulibaly, Tatianna de M'C Ensira.

Music

Abidjan is a turntable for West African music, and a major producer of musical art in Africa. The city attracts the majority of musicians from the Côte d'Ivoire mainly because of its many discothèques, which allow artists to make their debut and express themselves, record companies and national media. Here are a few examples of the most popular artists to have made their debut in Abidjan: Alpha Blondy, Aïcha Koné, the group Magic System, Meiway, and Tiken Jah Fakoly, as well as Gadji Celi, Chantal Taiba, Nayanka Bell, DJ Arafat. In the 1980s Myriam Makeba came to the city, when she was not allowed back to her own country, South Africa, as did the Congolese diva Tshala Muana, apostle of the Soukous style of dance.

Since the 1990s Abidjan has had a significant variety of musical styles being exported throughout Africa and the West. These are namely Zoblazo, Mapouka, Zouglou and, since 2002, the Coupé Décalé; the popularity and great variety of these dances make the city a kind of African dance and musical trend capital. Congo-Kinchasa used to be known by this title; with Rumba, Soukous and then Ndombolo.

Abidjan is also considered to be the reggae capital of Africa.

Each year, the city organises the following music festivals:

Faya Flow Les Top d'or. Concerto Festival. Le Tiercé Gagnant The RTI Music Awards. Dj Mix Atalakou, organised byRTI Music TV

International Jazz Festival ofAbidjan (FIJA)

International Festival of Black Music (FIMNA). Organised every two years, alternating with the International Jazz Festival.

Media

Most mass media in the Côte d'Ivoire can be found in Abidjan.

Television and radio

The National Council for Audio-visual Communication (CNCA) is the regulating authority of audio-visual material in the Côte d'Ivoire.

Radiodiffusion-Télévision ivoirienne (RTI) is the radio and television broadcasting authority for the Ivory Coast; it is financed by licence fees, publicity and grants. RTI has four television channels and two radio stations: ''La Première'' (non-specialised), ''TV2'', ''RTI Music TV'', ''RTI Sport TV'', ''Radio Côte d'Ivoire'', and ''Fréquence 2'' (non-specialised radio). ''Radio Jam'' is a private radio station in the Côte d'Ivoire, and is the station the most listened to by young people.

With regards to private channels, Tam-Tam TV will be the first International Côte d'Ivoire television channel with headquarters in Abidjan, with other studios in the United States, Italy, France, Asia, the Middle East.

There are also several Côte d'Ivoire TV channels or radio stations available on the Internet: ''Africahit'', ''Music TV'', ''Abidjan.net TV'', ''Bengueshow'', etc.

Press

At the time of the single-party, a political situation which ruled over the country for 30 years like most other West African countries after independence, only one daily newspaper was distributed throughout the country: Fraternité Matin, from the parliamentary group PDCI-RDA, which was founded by the first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny. The advent of multiple parties in the Côte d'Ivoire in 1999 can be seen in the proliferation of newspapers and diverse publications, of which the majority is published in Abidjan.

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Internet and digital TV

The President, the Prime Minister, the government and ministers have an official website.

The web portal ''Abidjan.net'', which is domiciled in California in the U.S., broadcasts information about the city and the country all over the world. In the "global village" organisation, Abidjan has an Internet node and the number of internet-cafés there is increasing at an exponential rate, like the number of Internet users, which was estimated in 2007 to be 400,000. The web portal ''Abidjan24.net'', which is domiciled in Abidjan in the Côte d'Ivoire, broadcasts information about the city and the country all over the world.

Television channels

There is only one public state-owned channel (RTI), which is also in charge of radio.

Channel 2 (TV2): in progress.

Private channels and international radio: undeveloped, non-existent.

Local radio stations: localised regional nature stations, not accessible out of the country.

Festivals and cultural events

Theatre

''The MASA Festival''.

Dance

''Urban Dance Festival''.

''Hip-hop is back''. The 2007 show was on the 21 April, and Diam's and Rageman were guests. It took place on two stages at the Las Palmas Complex.

Fashion

Several fashion events are organised in the city each year: "Les Féeries" (The Fairies), the ceremonies for Miss Côte d'Ivoire, Miss Abidjan District, Miss Christmas (from 6–11 years) and Miss Awoulaba (very prestigious). Moreover, the Yéhé Fashion Show takes place every year, a celebration of African fashion, and the International Festival of Lingerie and Beauty of Abidjan (FILBA).

Abidjan is also the headquarters for Côte d'Ivoire's clothes designers, renowned for being the best in Africa; including Gilles Touré (designer for Miss Côte d'Ivoire) or even Pathéo.

Miscellaneous

Climbie Beach Festival

International Cartoon Festival,. International Comedy Festival (FIRA) organised by Adama Dahico.

Sport

Côte d'Ivoire national sport (basketball, athletics, rugby, handball, volleyball, etc.), especially football, is very popular in Abidjan. Abidjan is home to the ASEC Mimosas football club, one of the country's leading football clubs followed by Africa Sport National.

Football

Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF)

Professional Clubs

{|class="wikitable" |-

! scope="col" |Club ! scope="col" |Stadium ! scope="col" |Founded in ! scope="col" |Titles ! scope="col" |Cups ! scope="col" |F. H.-B. Cups |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |ASEC Mimosas |Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny |align=center |1948 |align=center |22 |align=center |14 |align=center |11 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Africa Sports |Stade Robert Champroux |align=center |1947 |align=center |14 |align=center |13 |align=center |10 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Stade d'Abidjan |Stade Municipal d'Abidjan |align=center |1936 |align=center |5 |align=center |5 |align=center |1 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Stella Club d'Adjamé |Stade Auguste Denise |align=center |1953 |align=center |3 |align=center |2 |align=center |2 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Société Omnisports de l'Armée |Stade Robert Champroux |align=center |1932 |align=center | |align=center |1 |align=center |1 |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Jeunesse Abidjan |Stade Robert Champroux |align=center |1932 |align=center | |align=center |1 |align=center | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |FC Satellite |Stade Imam Ali Timité |align=center | |align=center | |align=center | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |EFYM | |align=center |1997 |align=center | |align=center | |align=center | |- ! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;" |Rio-Sports d'Anyama |Parc des sports de Rio |align=center |1990 |align=center | |align=center | |align=center | |}

Each year a 7-a-side football tournament is organised: the Festival of Maracana d'Abidjan (FESTMA) which takes place in Yopougon.

Following the undeniable success of the "Football Academy" created by Jean-Marc Guillou (Académie Sol Béni), from which several old members have rejoined professional European clubs, several football training centres for young footballers have developed in recent years: the ''Cyril Domoraud Centre'', ''Labo foot'' in Yopougon, the ''Centre ivoirien de formation de football d'Abidjan (CIFFA)'', ''l'Étoile Scientifique Football Abidjan (ESFA)'', etc.

Events :

The main football event organised in Abidjan was the 1984 African Cup of Nations and one of the finals of the 1983 African Youth Cup of Nations.

In 1964 the ''Jeux d'Abidjan'' took place in Abidjan, as did the final of the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 1975, 1980, 1983 and 1990, then another in 1992 under the name of CAF Confederations Cup. The Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny was the host of the very first African Super Cup in 1992, and the second in 1998. The finals of the 1966, 1986, 1995 and 1998 CAF Champions League also took place in Abidjan.

The economic capital also attracted other football events such as the Assumption Tournament (the first one taking place in 2007 in the Stade Robert Champroux), the West African Club Championship (UFOA Cup), and international gala matches.

Other sports

Basketball

''Côte d'Ivoire Basketball Federation'' Clubs : ''Abidjan Basket Club'', ''Club sportif Abidjanais'', ASEC Mimosas (basket-ball), ''Phénix Basket Club de Cocody'' and Génération Basket-ball Club (GBC) which is a new club of young volunteers who want to become basketball players.

Rugby

''Côte d'Ivoire Rugby Federation''

Clubs : ''Abidjan University Club'', ''Treichville Biafra Olympic''

Abidjan is the centre of Ivorian rugby, and most of the Côte d'Ivoire national rugby union team have come from here. Although the origins of Ivorian rugby go back to the 1960s and earlier, real growth came about when the paid French official Jean-François Turon managed to get the game adopted by Abidjan University at the turn of the 1980s, but it is François Dali who is seen as the father of Ivorian rugby, and his son was the national captain during the 1990s.

Cycling

''Côte d'Ivoire Cycling Federation''

Clubs : ''ASFA Moossou'', ''Club cycliste d'Azagui'', ''AS Cavel de Koumassi'', ''Cycliste club de l'océan'', and the ''Club cycliste de Yopougon''

Tennis

''Côte d'Ivoire Tennis'' qui a organisé, which organised the first International Tennis tournament CEDEAO in 2007

Clubs : ''Seamen's Club'', ''SGBCI Tennis Club'', ''Tennis Club Hotel Ivoire'', ''Sporting Club 2 Plateaux'', ''Palm Club Abidjan Tennis'', and the ''Lycée technique Abidjan Tennis Club''

Judo

''Côte d'Ivoire Federation of Judo and Related Disciplines'' which organised the 15th Abidjan Tournament in 2007'.

Athletics

''Côte d'Ivoire Atheltics Federation.

Clubs : ''Club d'Attécoubé'' and ''Club de Yopougon''

Boxing

Club : SOA Boxing Club d'Abidjan'''

Golf

''Côte d'Ivoire Golf Federation''

Club: Ivoire Golf Club'''

Facilities

Stadiums : Stade INJS, Stade Municipal d'Abidjan, Stade Municipal de Man FC, Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Parc des Sports de Treichville, Stade Robert Champroux, Stade du Port autonome d'Abidjan.

Other facilities: ''Omnisport Palace in Treichville''

Olympic Complex: with 80,000 to 100,000 seats is being planned, thanks to the Ivory Coast managers’ desire to provide the "Elephants" with a better national stadium. The complex will have, in addition to areas for all different Olympic disciplines (football, athletics, swimming, etc.), restaurants, shops, auditoriums, conference rooms, a hotel for the "sidelined" sportspeople, and training areas. Since the sudden increase in Côte d'Ivoire football, the Côte d'Ivoire State believes that the national team deserves a better stadium. Indeed, there is a problem with the "Félicia": it is impossible to increase its size due to its location in Le Plateau. The project for the new complex was suspended because of a lack of investors and the political situation which the country has been experiencing since December 1999.

References

External links

Site officiel du District d'Abidjan

TEDxAbidjan, The Premier Intellectual Gathering of Côte d'Ivoire – Le Principal Forum Intellectuel qui réunit les esprits les plus brillants sous licence de TED

Category:Capitals in Africa Category:Populated places in Lagunes Region Category:Former national capitals

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Name	Laurent Gbagbo
Office	President of Côte d'Ivoire
Primeminister	Seydou DiarraPascal Affi N'GuessanSeydou DiarraCharles Konan BannyGuillaume SoroGilbert Aké
Term start	26 October 2000
Term end	11 April 2011*
Predecessor	Robert Guéï
Successor	Alassane Ouattara
Birth date	May 31, 1945
Birth place	Gagnoa, French West Africa (now Ivory Coast)
Spouse	Simone Gbagbo, Nadiana Bamba
Party	Ivorian Popular Front
Alma mater	Paris Diderot University
Website	Official website
Footnotes	*The presidency was disputed between Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara from 4 December 2010 to 11 April 2011, at which time Gbagbo was arrested. }}

Laurent Koudou Gbagbo (; born 31 May 1945) served as the fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. A history teacher by profession, he is also an amateur chemist and physicist.

Gbagbo was imprisoned in the early 1970s and again in the early 1990s, and he lived in exile in France during much of the 1980s as a result of his union activism. Gbagbo founded the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) in 1982 and ran unsuccessfully for President against Félix Houphouët-Boigny at the start of multi-party politics in 1990. Eventually he won a seat in the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire.

Gbagbo became president after Robert Guéï, head of a military junta, barred other leading politicians from running against Gbagbo in the October 2000 presidential election. Gbagbo claimed victory after the election and his supporters took to the streets toppling Guéï. Gbagbo was then installed as President.

Following the 2010 presidential election, Gbagbo challenged the vote count, alleged fraud, and refused to stand down. He called for the annulment of results from nine of the country's regions. Alassane Ouattara was declared the winner and was recognized as such by election observers, the international community, the African Union (AU), and the Economic Community of West African States. After a short period of civil conflict, Gbagbo was arrested by the Republican Army of Ivory Coast.

Early life and political career

Gbagbo was born in the village of Mama, near Gagnoa. He became a history professor and an opponent of the regime of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He was imprisoned from 31 March 1971 to January 1973. In 1979, he obtained his doctorate at Paris Diderot University (French: ''Université Paris Diderot'', also known as ''Université Paris 7 – Denis Diderot''). In 1980, he became Director of the Institute of History, Art, and African Archeology at the University of Abidjan. He participated in a 1982 teachers' strike as a member of the National Trade Union of Research and Higher Education, and at this time he formed what would become the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). Gbagbo went into exile in France in the same year. He returned to Côte d'Ivoire on 13 September 1988 and at the FPI's constitutive congress, held on 19–20 November 1988, he was elected as the party's Secretary-General.

Gbagbo said in July 2008 that he had received crucial support from Blaise Compaoré, currently the President of Burkina Faso, while he was part of the underground opposition to Houphouët-Boigny.

Following the introduction of multiparty politics in 1990, Gbagbo was the only candidate to stand against Houphouët-Boigny in the October 1990 presidential election, receiving 18.3% of the vote against Houphouët-Boigny. In the November 1990 parliamentary election, Gbagbo won a seat in the National Assembly, along with eight other members of the FPI; Gbagbo was elected to a seat from Ouragahio District in Gagnoa Department and was President of the FPI Parliamentary Group from 1990 to 1995. In 1992 he was sentenced to two years in prison and charged with inciting violence, but was released later in the year. The FPI boycotted the 1995 presidential election. In 1996 Gbagbo was re-elected to his seat in the National Assembly from Ouragahio, following a delay in the holding of the election there, and in the same year he was elected as President of the FPI.

At the FPI's 3rd Ordinary Congress on 9–11 July 1999, Gbagbo was chosen as the FPI's candidate for the October 2000 presidential election. That election took place after a December 1999 coup in which Robert Guéï took power. Guéï refused to allow Alassane Ouattara or Henri Konan Bédié to run, leaving Gbagbo as the only significant opposition candidate. Guéï claimed victory in the election, held on 22 October 2000, but Gbagbo toppled Guéï, who fled the capital. Gbagbo installed himself as President on 26 October.

Civil war

On 19 September 2002 a revolt by northerners against Gbagbo's government partly failed. The rebels, calling themselves the "Forces Nouvelles," attempted to seize the cities of Abidjan, Bouaké, and Korhogo. They failed to take Abidjan, but were successful in the other two, respectively in the center and north of the country. Their grievances were that their candidate, Alassane Ouattara, had been disallowed from running in the 2000 presidential election, having been accused by Gbagbo and his supporters of not being a "real Ivoirian" in what would be the beginning of Gbagbo's trend toward inciting ethnic divisions to maintain power, following on from the concept of "Ivoirieté" introduced by former president Henri Konan Bédié.

Aftermath

Early in November 2004, after the peace agreement had effectively collapsed following Gbagbo's refusal to agree to hold democratic elections that would include all candidates and the rebels' subsequent refusal to disarm, Gbagbo ordered airstrikes against the rebels. During one of these airstrikes in Bouaké on 6 November 2004, French soldiers were hit and nine of them were killed; the Ivorian government has said it was a mistake, but the French have claimed it was deliberate. They responded by destroying most Ivoirian military aircraft, and Gbagbo supporters violently attacked French-origin Ivoirians and French nationals.

Gbagbo's original mandate as president expired on 30 October 2005, but he garnered support from other African dictators in the African Union to support his bid to refuse to hold elections, and, despite his rhetoric against the international community, sought support to avoid holding elections as promised. With the late October deadline approaching in 2006, it was regarded as very unlikely that the election would in fact be held by that point, and the opposition and the rebels rejected the possibility of another term extension for Gbagbo. The UN Security Council endorsed another one-year extension of Gbagbo's term on 1 November 2006; however, the resolution provided for the strengthening of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny's powers. Gbagbo said the next day that elements of the resolution deemed to be constitutional violations would not be applied.

A peace deal between the government and the rebels, or New Forces, was signed on 4 March 2007, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and subsequently Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces, became Prime Minister. Those events were seen by some observers as substantially strengthening Gbagbo's position.

Gbagbo visited the north for the first time since the outbreak of the war for a disarmament ceremony, the "peace flame", on 30 July 2007. This ceremony involved burning weapons to symbolize the end of the conflict. At the ceremony, Gbagbo declared the war over and said that the country should move quickly to elections, which were then planned for early 2008.

On 30 August 2008, Gbagbo was designated the FPI's candidate for the November 2008 presidential election at a party congress; he was the only candidate for the FPI nomination. The presidential election was again postponed to 2010.

2010 presidential election and succession crisis

In 2010, Ivory Coast had a presidential election that saw Gbagbo face off with Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo, whose mandate had expired in 2005, had delayed the election several times.

On 28 November 2010, the second round of the presidential election was held. Four days later the Ivory Coast Election Commission (CEI) declared Alassane Ouattara the winner with 54.1% of the vote. Gbagbo's party complained of fraud and ordered that votes from nine regions be annulled, but the claims were disputed by the Ivoirian Electoral Commission and international election observers. The Constitutional Council, headed by a staunch supporter of Gbagbo, nullified the CEI's declaration based on alleged voting fraud, and excluded votes from nine northern areas. The Constitutional Council concluded that without these votes Gbagbo won with 51% of the remaining vote. The constitutional restriction on Presidents serving more than ten years was not addressed. With a significant portion of the country's vote nullified, especially in areas where Ouattara polled well, tensions mounted in the country. Gbagbo ordered the army to close the borders and foreign news organizations were banned from broadcasting from within the country. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the government to "act responsibly and peacefully."

Gbagbo declared that "I will continue to work with all the countries of the world, but I will never give up our sovereignty." Gbagbo is accused of committing many atrocities against regime opponents. Outtara's forces have also been accused of mass killings. Sporadic violence and gunfire were reported in various parts of the country, including Abidjan. Gbagbo is mainly supported by the largely Christian south; his opponents are mostly concentrated in the Muslim north.

Ouattara also took a parallel oath of office, based on an earlier pronouncement by the CEI that he won the election. The international community, including the African Union, recognized Ouattara as the duly elected president and called for Gbagbo to respect the will of the people. ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, also recognized Ouattara and demanded Gbagbo cede power. Gbagbo responded by launching ethnic attacks on northerners living in Abidjan with his army made up partly of Liberian mercenaries, and rumours (unconfirmed because of restrictions on the movement of peacekeeping forces) of pro-Gbagbo death squads and mass graves have been reported to representatives of the UN. When Nigeria demanded Gbagbo step down and the EU began imposing sanctions and freezing assets, Gbagbo demanded foreign troops (by which he meant UN and French troops) leave the country. Leaders of the Forces Nouvelles (former rebels) asserted that Gbagbo was not the Head of State and could not make such a request and also asserted that the demand was a part of a plan to commit genocide on ethnicities from the north of the country, as stated by Gbagbo's Minister of Youth and Employment.

On 6 April 2011, forces loyal to Ouattara moved to seize Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan after failed negotiations to end the presidential succession crisis. According to Ouattara, his forces established a security perimeter at the residence, where Gbagbo has sought refuge in a subterranean level, and are waiting for him to run out of food and water. The UN has insisted that he be arrested, judged and tried for crimes against humanity during his term and since the election of Ouattara.

On 10 April 2011, UN and French helicopters fired on heavy weapons located in Gbabgo's residency in order to prevent attacks on civilians or UN personnel.

Arrest

It was reported that Gbagbo was arrested on the afternoon of 11 April 2011. Gbagbo is held in the Golf Hotel by Ouattara's forces, but the UN police had accepted his request for their protection. Initial reports indicated that French special forces had made the arrest, based on declarations by a Gbagbo aide, but it was denied by the French ambassador in Ivory Coast. A French military spokesman later asserted that French forces did not enter Gbagbo's residence. After briefing the United Nations Security Council on the situation, Alain Le Roy, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, confirmed to reporters that Ouattara forces made the arrest. But there have been persistant reports from Alain Toussaint, Gbagbo's Special Advisor in France, that French forces did indeed made the arrest namely by blasting open the corridor that linked the presidencial residence to the French embassy in Abidjan. Gbagbo had had the tunnel blocked with concrete as soon as he came to power in 2000, marking his political independence to France, the former colonial master.

Later speaking from inside the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, Gbagbo told his supporters to stop fighting. U.S. President Barack Obama has cheered news of the latest developments in the Ivory Coast and CNN quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying Gbagbo's capture "sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants.... They may not disregard the voice of their own people".

See also

Politics of Côte d'Ivoire

First Ivorian Civil War

Second Ivorian Civil War

References

External links

Laurent Gbagbo's official website

Category:1945 births Category:Ivorian democracy activists Category:Ivorian Popular Front politicians Category:Ivorian prisoners and detainees Category:Living people Category:Members of the National Assembly of Côte d'Ivoire Category:Presidents of Côte d'Ivoire Category:Prisoners and detainees of Côte d'Ivoire

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name	Soul Syndicate
background	group_or_band
origin	Kingston, Jamaica
genre	Reggae
years active	early 1970s – present
past members	Earl "Chinna" SmithCarlton "Santa" DavisGeorge "Fully" FullwoodTony ChinBernard "Touter" HarveyKeith SterlingLeroy "Horsemouth" WallaceCleon DouglasEarl LindoTyrone Downie
notable instruments	}}

Soul Syndicate, originally called the Rhythm Raiders, were one of the top reggae session bands in Jamaica from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.

History

In the first half of the 1970s the band from the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston recorded for producers such as Keith Hudson, Winston Holness (under the pseudonym The Observers), Duke Reid and others on some of the most popular and influential recordings of the era. Core members of the band were guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith, drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, bassist and founder of Soul Syndicate George "Fully" Fullwood, rhythm guitarist Tony Chin and keyboard player Bernard "Touter" Harvey, later with Keith Sterling on keyboards. Other members at various times included drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, guitarist Cleon Douglas, and keyboard players Earl Lindo and Tyrone Downie. Freddie McGregor was at one time the band's featured vocalist. The nucleus of the band also recorded under the name The Agrovators for Bunny Lee. As well as playing on countless releases backing some of Jamaica's top vocalists, including Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs, they also released several albums credited to the band. Harvey later became a member of The Wailers Band.

The Soul Syndicate's "Stalag 17" and "Taxi" bass lines, was among many bass lines created by George "Fully" Fullwood ,a instrumental, featuring Ansell Collins on organ, was much-versioned, providing the basis for hits over the two decades that followed for Big Youth, Horace Andy, Augustus Pablo, Frankie Paul, General Echo, Tenor Saw and others.

Discography

Albums

''Harvest Uptown, Famine Downtown'' (1977) London/Soul Syndicate

''Moodie In Dub Vol 1'' (1978) Moodie Music (Black Slate & The Soul Syndicate)

''Was, Is, & Always'' (1980) High Times/Epiphany

''Roots Radics Meet Soul Syndicate In Dub'' (198?) Razor Sounds (with Roots Radics)

''Friends and Family'' (1996) Epiphany

;Compilations:

''Freedom Sounds In Dub'' (1996) Blood & Fire (King Tubby & The Soul Syndicate)

''Dub Classics'' (2006) Jamaican Recordings

DVD

''Word, Sound and Power'' (2008), MVD

Notes

References

Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) ''The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.'', Rough Guides, ISBN 1-84353-329-4

Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9

Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6

External links

Legendary Jamaican bassist Fully Fullwood web site

Legendary Jamaican roots reggae guitarist Tony Chin,member of Soul Syndicate,Big Mountain,the Fully Fullwood Band;and more.

Legendary Jamaican drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis web site

Soul Syndicate at Roots Archives

Category:Jamaican reggae musical groups

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria making up 10% of the country's population. Most of them are Sunni Muslims; there are also Yazidi and Yarsan Kurds in Syria and small numbers of Christians and Alawis. They face routine discrimination and harassment by the Syrian government.

Demographics

The majority of Kurds in Syria originally came from Turkey in the 1920s. The community in Syria is quite small compared to their compatriots in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. However in the years 1980-1990, Kurds in Syria changed their tactics. During this period, violent clashes of community members with authorities resulted in mass arrests and deaths in 1986 and 1992.

Considering that the State department and CIA did not acknowledge the existence of the Kurds in Syria in 1970s and 1980s, Syrian government officially does not acknowledge the existence of Kurds in Syria, and lack of transparent census in Syria; it would be difficult to predicate the true and accurate percentage.

Geography

Kurds mostly live in a geocultural region in northeastern Syria. This region covers greater part of the governorate of Al Hasakah, a region also inhabited by many Assyrians.. The main cities in this region are Al-Qamishli and Al Hasakah. Another region with significant Kurdish population is Kobany (Ain Al-Arab) in the northern part of Syria near the town of Jarabluss. The Kurdish-inhabited northern and northeastern parts of Syria in Kurdish is called "Kurdistana Binxetê". An area of Kurdish concentration is Kurd-Dagh in the northwest, around the town of Afrin in Aleppo Governorate, a region that extends to the Turkish districts Islahiye and Kırıkhan. Also many Kurds live in metropolitan areas and large cities of the country.

KDPS, Jazira and Barzani

Osman Sabri and Daham Miro along with some Kurdish politicians, founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS) in 1957. The objectives of KDPS were promotion of Kurdish cultural rights, economic progress and democratic change. KDPS was never legally recognized by the Syrian state and remains an underground organization, especially after a crackdown in 1960 during which several of its leaders were arrested, charged with separatism and imprisoned. After the failure of Syrian political union with Egypt in 1961, Syria was declared an ''Arab Republic'' in the interim constitution. On 23 August 1962, the government conducted a special population census only for the province of ''Jazira'' which was predominantly Kurdish. As a result, around 120,000 Kurds in Jazira were arbitrarily categorized as ''aliens''. In fact, the inhabitants had Syrian identity cards and were told to hand them over to the administration for renewal. However those Kurds who submitted their cards received nothing in return. A media campaign was launched against the Kurds with slogans such as ''Save Arabism in Jazira!'' and ''Fight the Kurdish threat!''. These policies coincided with the beginning of Barzani's uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan and discovery of oilfields in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani's fighters

Arab cordon

In 1965, the Syrian government decided to create an Arab cordon (''Hizam Arabi'') in the Jazira region along the Turkish border. The cordon was 300 kilometers long and 10-15 kilometers wide, stretched from the Iraqi border in the east to ''Ras Al-Ain'' in the west. The implementation of the ''Arab cordon'' plan began in 1973 and Bedouin Arabs were brought in and resettled in Kurdish areas. The toponymy of the area such as village names were Arabized. According to the original plan, some 140,000 Kurds had to be deported to the southern desert near ''Al-Raad''. Although Kurdish farmers were dispossessed of their lands, they refused to move and give up their houses. Among these Kurdish villagers, those who were designated as alien are not allowed to own property, to repair a crumbling house or to build a new one.

1986 Demonstrations

In March 1986, a few thousand Kurds wearing Kurdishecostume gathered in the Kurdish part of Damascus to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz. Police warned them that Kurdish dress is prohibited and it fired on the crowd leaving one person dead. Around 40,000 Kurds took part in his funeral in Qamishli. Also in Afrin, three Kurds were killed during the Newroz demonstrations.

The March 2004 riots

After an incident in a football stadium in Al Qamishli, 65 people were killed and more than 160 were injured in days of clashes starting from March 12. Kurdish sources indicated that Syrian security forces used live ammunition against civilians after clashes broke out at a football match between Kurdish fans of the local team and Arab supporters of a visiting team from the city of Deir al-Zor. The international press reported that nine people were killed on March 12. According to Amnesty International hundreds of people, mostly Kurds, were arrested after the riots. Kurdish detainees were reportedly tortured and ill-treated. Some Kurdish students were expelled from their universities, reportedly for participating in peaceful protests.

Formation of an Umbrella for Kurds

Sherkoh Abbas, President, located in Washington DC. The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria was formed to represent Syrian Kurds based on two major conferences, one at the US Senate in March 2006 and the other at the EU parliament in Brussels in 2006. The Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria (KNAS) seek democracy for Syria and granting rights to Kurds and other Syrian minorities. Also, we seek to transform Syria into a federal state, with a democratic system and structure for the federal government and provincial governments. This will begin a new era in which the Syrian people and neighboring countries will enjoy freedom, peace, security and stability.

2011 Demonstrations

Following the Tunisian Revolution and the Egyptian Revolution, February 4th 2011 was declared a 'Day of Rage' in Syria by activists through the medium of Facebook. Few turned out to protest, but among the few were Kurdish demonstrators in the northeast of the country.

Human rights of Kurds in Syria

Amnesty and HRW reports

Kurds often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. Amnesty International USA claims Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted. According to the Human Rights Watch, Kurds in Syria can not use the Kurdish language, are not allowed to register children with Kurdish names, prohibited to start businesses that do not have Arabic names, are not permitted to build Kurdish private schools, and prohibited to publish books and other materials written in Kurdish.

Citizenship

In 1962, 20 percent of Syria's Kurdish population were stripped of their Syrian citizenship following a very highly controversial census raising concerns among human rights groups. According to the Syrian government, the reason for this enactment was due to groups of Kurds infiltrating the Al-Hasakah Governorate in 1945. The Syrian government claims that the Kurds came from neighboring countries, especially Turkey, and crossed into Syrian borders illegally. The government claims that these Kurds settled down, gradually, in the region in cities like Amuda and Al Qamishli until they accounted for the majority in some of these cities. The government also claims that many Kurds were capable of registering themselves illegally in the Syrian civil registers. The government further speculated that Kurds intended to settle down and acquire property, especially after the issue of the agricultural reform law, in order to benefit from land redistribution. However, according to Human Rights Watch, the Syrian government falsely claimed that many of the Kurds who were the original inhabitants of the land were foreigners, and in turn, violated their human rights by stripping them of their Syrian citizenship.

As a result of government claims of an increase in illegal immigration, the Syrian government decided to conduct a general census on October 5, 1962 in the governorate with claims that its sole purpose was to purify registers and eliminate the alien infiltrators. As a result, the verified registrations of the citizens of Syria were included in the new civil registers. The remaining, which included 100,000 Kurds, were registered as foreigners in special registers. Since then, the number of stateless Kurds has grown to more than 200,000. Accodring to Refugees International, there are about 300,000 stateless Kurds in Syria; however, Kurds dispute this number and estimate about 500,000.

According to the Human Rights Watch, by many accounts, the special census was carried out in an arbitrary manner separating members of the same families and classifying them differently. HRW claims that some Kurds in the same family became citizens while others became foreigners suggesting an inaccuracy in the Syrian government's process; HRW also alleges that some of the Kurds who had served in the Syrian army lost citizenship while those who bribed officials kept theirs. Stateless Kurds also do not have the option of legally relocating to another country because they lack passports or other internationally recognized travel documents. In Syria, other than in the governorate of Al-Hasakah, foreigners cannot be employed at government agencies and state-owned enterprises; they may not legally marry Syrian citizens. Kurds with foreigner status do not have the right to vote in elections or run for public office.

In April 2011, the President signed Decree 49 which provides citizenship for Kurds who were registered as foreigners in Hasaka.

Accusations of racism and apartheid

Accusations of Syrian Arab racism and apartheid, especially against the Kurdish minority, comes from Kurdish human rights organizations. and others.

See also

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iranian Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdistan

History of the Kurdish people

References

External links

kurdnas.org

KurdWatch.org

Support Kurds in Syria

The Alliance for Kurdish Rights

Category:Ethnic minorities Category:Kurdish diaspora Category:Ethnic groups in Syria

de:Kurden in Syrien fa:کردستان سوریه ku:Başûrê Rojavaya Kurdistanê nl:Koerden in Syrië pt:Curdistão sírio simple:Western Kurdistan ckb:ڕۆژئاوای کوردستان sv:Kurdistan#Kurdistans utbredning