Ivory Coast. The resort from the Bronzés saga is now the retreat of African high society.

At the former Club Med in Assinie, Ivory Coast, stagnant water forms puddles in the vast, greenish tiled pools, and the sun shines through the leaky thatched roof of the old stage. The "Bronzés" (to cite the iconic saga of French seaside films from the 1970s) have long since packed up and left: abandoned in the early 2000s due to political instability, the holiday club where the famous French comedy starring a young Christian Clavier, Michel Blanc, and Thierry Lhermitte, among others, was filmed is a deplorable sight. Only the naive African-style drawings on the enormous bar have vaguely resisted the test of time and sea spray. "Club Assinie Paradis. No access to the public," warns a sign at the foot of a collapsed roof.

This ghost town is, in reality, an illusion. After the holiday clubs that only welcomed Europeans and the collapse of tourism during the political and military crisis (2002-2011), Assinie has transformed into a luxury seaside resort, a favorite destination for the Ivorian jet set.

Paradise

"It was all white here! Only European tourists. To find a black man's head, you had to look for it," laughs Pierre Aké, a resident of a nearby village, nostalgic for those "blessed times" when "everyone had a job at the Club."

On the Atlantic coast, 90 km east of Abidjan and 20 km from Ghana, Assinie is a fishing village with a unique charm, immortalized in a 2010 song by Ivorian reggae star Alpha Blondy. Nestled between a lagoon and the ocean, the location is idyllic: a fine sandy beach stretching for miles along the coast, a narrow strip of land planted with coconut trees hiding the calm, cool waters of a tranquil lagoon. The waterfront is lined with opulent villas, luxurious contemporary homes hidden behind high walls, imposing buildings under construction, and a few discreet hotel complexes.

The few remaining vacant lots are guarded, a testament to the high value of the land. Prices have at least tripled in the last fifteen years, and it's not uncommon to shell out a million euros for a seaside villa—an astronomical sum for the average Ivorian. On specialized platforms, sumptuous villas with pools and large glass roofs easily rent for 1,000 euros a night.

"Assinie is the Saint-Tropez of West Africa. Or Beverly Hills, if you prefer," says city councilor Maxwell Kouassi, echoing a recurring phrase.

The African jet set and jet skiing

"It's a relaxing tourist destination," Mr. Kouassi boasts. People come from Abidjan, "especially on weekends and holidays," to enjoy a "perfect blend of relaxed luxury and preserved authenticity," according to tourist brochures.

This 22-kilometer lagoon is a microcosm of the Ivory Coast's powerful and jet-set: stars, politicians, and businessmen. Ivorian soccer player Didier Drogba and Cameroonian soccer player Samuel Eto'o naturally have villas here. President Alassane Ouattara spends his weekends in a residence hidden behind a dense palm grove.

A pirogue tour of the lagoon reveals the buen retiro of Central African celebrities. Here, the Hollywood-style home "of the son of a former president of Mali." There, the property of the president of the National Assembly. Here, that of a former president of the Ivorian Football Federation, or the CEO of a mobile phone company. But it's not just Ivorian celebrities and those from neighboring countries. The Lebanese, who are very powerful economically in Côte d'Ivoire, "are very numerous here." They've abandoned quad bike rides on the beach, which "used to drive the president crazy" and are now banned, in favor of jet skiing on the lagoon.

“There are billions here”

In Assinie, "there's a lot of money, billions," Akè, who's driving the canoe, tells Agence France Presse, lamenting that it benefits the villagers too little. "Yes, very rich people come here," the councilor admits. But there are also "those with more modest means." With a recently completed highway on part of the route out of Abidjan, "Assinie is a forward-looking area, and we have big plans," he continues.

"We have the sea, the lagoon, nature. All this attracts greed. Everyone wants a house here," explains Laurent Kouamé Anoh, chief of the village of Assouinde, at the end of the lagoon. "Some of our young people work in hotels, others in villas." "Before, there were straw huts and bamboo houses. In the last fifteen years, they've been built everywhere," observes an employee at one of these hotels. "Assinie has changed a lot," laments Jean-Claude, a vendor of African handicrafts. "Tourists have been replaced by the powerful. They don't care about poor people like us."