Beverly Hills by the lagoon

>>→ Ivorian Riviera now caters to the powerful few.

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Locals in Assinie-Mafia reminisce about the old days when the now-shuttered Club Med in southeastern Ivory Coast provided jobs aplenty.

European holidaymakers once flocked to the endless sandy white beaches and idyllic waters of Assinie, located gokm east of the economic capital, Abidjan, and near the Ghanaian border.

The fishing village's former Club Med even provided the backdrop for the 1978 cult French comedy film Les Bronzes (Fried Vacation), which satirically skewered resort vacations.

Reggae star Alpha Blondy also sang its praises in 2010.

“Everything here was white. Only European tourists. You had to really search to find a black person,” chuckled Pierre Ake, who lives in a nearby hamlet.

But European tourists have long since packed their bags, driven out by deadly political unrest that shook Ivory Coast in the early 2000s.