Bouaké is the second largest city in Côte d'Ivoire with nearly 600,000 inhabitants in 2022 (and a population of more than one million) and the third largest economy in the country behind Abidjan and San Pedro. It is best known for being the official headquarters of the rebellion and the headquarters of the FN (Forces nouvelles, as the rebels were called, whose entire headquarters, including the general secretariat and administrative services, was located in the city) from 2002 to 2010. Bouaké, the "capital of the rebels and the northern country" (the territory occupied by the rebels represented 60% of the national territory of Côte d'Ivoire), was then contrasted with Abidjan, the "capital of the loyalists and the south. It experienced occasional security jolts between 2014 and 2017 with the mutinies of former Forces nouvelles rebels. Today, security is acceptable, roads and some buildings have been rehabilitated. The Singaporean agribusiness giant Olam has a cashew nut processing plant, banks have branches there, and supermarkets are everywhere. The extension of the Abidjan-Yamoussoukro highway to Bouaké, which will facilitate trade between Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, is expected to further enhance this development. The capital of the Centre, kingdom of cotton and cashew nuts with a peaceful provincial atmosphere, is attracting the interest of industrialists and visitors. The importance of the large daily market of Bouaké, located on the site of the Cathedral of Saint Theresa - one of the most important religious buildings in Côte d'Ivoire - is noteworthy. It is the largest market in the country, both in terms of the space it occupies and in terms of its density, traffic and transactions. In the evening in the city, the maquis are all full and the atmosphere is festive. A city with an authentic atmosphere.

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Mosquée de Bouaké. Jean-Paul LABOURDETTE

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