Tens of thousands flooded the streets of Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan, demanding an end to President Alassane Ouattara’s tightening grip on power. The 83-year-old leader, installed in 2011 after a French-backed military intervention ousted former President Laurent Gbagbo, now seeks an unconstitutional fourth term by barring key opponents from October’s election.
France, the former colonial ruler, continues to prop up Ouattara’s regime, fearing the loss of its most loyal West African ally. Achy Ekissi, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Ivory Coast (PCRCI), stated, “France pretends to urge Ouattara to step down, but in reality, it backs his dictatorship because it has no reliable replacement.”
A History of Imperialist Meddling
Ouattara’s rise was engineered by French imperialism. In 2011, French airstrikes bombarded the presidential palace, forcibly removing Gbagbo—a leader with socialist and pan-Africanist leanings—and installing Ouattara, a former IMF official. Gbagbo was later detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for nearly a decade before being acquitted of all charges, exposing the politically motivated nature of his prosecution.
Now, Ouattara is replicating the same tactics used against him in the past. In the 1990s, he was barred from elections under laws requiring candidates to have Ivorian-born parents—a rule designed to sideline opposition figures. Today, he manipulates electoral rules to exclude Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse CEO now leading the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI-RDA).
Fractured Opposition, Growing Resistance
The August 9 protest marked a rare moment of unity between Thiam’s PDCI and Gbagbo’s African Peoples’ Party (PPA-CI), alongside trade unions and leftist groups. However, Ekissi warns that this alliance is temporary: “Once the ban on their candidacies is lifted, these factions will return to competing for power.”
Workers and farmers, bearing the brunt of Ouattara’s policies, joined the demonstrations. Atse Désiré of the General Confederation of Workers of Ivory Coast (CGT-CI) said, “Ouattara boasts of economic growth, but workers see none of it. Wages stagnate while prices soar, and foreign debt balloons.”
Despite infrastructure projects, much of the wealth flows to foreign corporations and corrupt officials. “Loans meant for rebuilding after France’s 2011 destruction have been looted,” Ekissi added.
France’s Last Stronghold in West Africa
With military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger expelling French troops, and Senegal’s new government distancing itself from Paris, Ivory Coast remains a critical neocolonial outpost. “If Ouattara falls, France loses its last firm grip in the region,” Ekissi noted.
The protesters’ demands—free elections, living wages, and an end to French interference—echo broader anti-imperialist struggles across Africa. As Ouattara clings to power, the resistance grows, fueled by decades of exploitation and the fight for true sovereignty.
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