The contenders

President Laurent Gbagbo (59) is a doctor of history of the Sorbonne, France, and a prolific author. He is Bété (and wrote a book about his people) born in Mama, in the department of Gagnoa. His Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) was founded in 1988 and he contrived to make it a member of the Socialist International, despite its platform of xenophobia against incomers from the north of the country, such as Alassane Dramane Ouattara (ADO), by making his tribal rhetoric sound like patriotism.

Article Tags:
Laurent Gbagbo, France, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Jacques Chirac, Jacques Lang, François Mitterrand, United States, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, Henri Konan Bédié, Michel Gbagbo, Front Populaire Ivoirien, Parti Socialiste, gendarme, Le Monde, Mouvement Patriotique de Côte d'Ivoire, Banque Centrale des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest

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