Place de la République

The Place de la République is the formal heart of Bangui, where the wide boulevards of the colonial city centre converge. The centrepiece is a triumphal arch in the Roman style — a relic of the Bokassa era that has outlasted both the emperor and any number of subsequent governments. The square is used for official ceremonies and, in quieter times, for evening promenades.

Around the square, the colonial-era administrative buildings give a sense of what the French imagined as a model African capital. Most are still in use; their condition varies. The nearby Palais de la Renaissance is the presidential palace; photography near it is inadvisable.

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A story
The triumphal arch in the square was erected by Jean-Bédel Bokassa, who declared himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire in 1976 in a coronation ceremony that cost an estimated 30 million US dollars — roughly a third of the country's annual GDP, largely funded by France. The empire lasted less than three years before France, embarrassed, backed a coup that ended it. The arch survived.

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