"I don't know Giscard d'Estaing": Ivory Coast renames streets with French names

In recent years, several West African countries have decided to rename parts of their public spaces, denouncing the still too visible presence of the former French colonial power, such as Senegal, or more radically, such as the military regimes of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.

But Côte d'Ivoire, one of Paris's last allies in the region, did not want to be part of this process, according to the project manager at the Ministry of Construction, Alphonse N'Guessan. The country simply "decided to modernize its system" of street naming, he said. The operation began in March. The new signs are in the country's colors, orange or green. A name "must reflect our history, our culture."

On the iconic "Boulevard VGE," which runs eight kilometers from the city center to the airport, the name of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French president from 1974 to 1981, has been replaced by that of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first president of Côte d'Ivoire (1960-1993). Boulevard de France now bears the name of the first lady of Côte d'Ivoire, Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny. And Boulevard de Marseille has been renamed after the former president of the National Assembly, Philippe Yacé.

"The roads should be named after Ivorian revolutionaries and politicians. Then we can explain to our children who is who," says Franck Hervé Mansou.

According to urban planner Wayiribé Ismaïl Ouattara, "it is important for Africans to identify with the development of the city." This is particularly true for a "population that is becoming increasingly young" and does not have the same reference points as its elders, he believes. In Côte d'Ivoire, 75% of residents are under 35.

But street naming "is not intended to erase collective memory," comments Wayiribé Ismaïl Ouattara. And for a young person, walking past the name of a colonial governor "will not create the same feeling as for someone who lived through colonization." The urban planner also believes that street naming will have an impact on tourism and promote the city's openness to the world.

The towns of Treichville, named after the colonial administrator and explorer Marcel Treich-Laplène, and Bingerville, named after the colonial governor Louis Gustave Binger, on the outskirts of Abidjan, have not been subject to any changes. Other towns or streets retain their French names.

Of the approximately 15,000 roads in Abidjan, only about 600 had names until now. Many were thus named for the first time, in reference to political, scientific, artistic, and sporting figures, a choice made in consultation with civil society organizations or traditional leaders.