City across the river — Sapeurs, Stanley Pool, and the Franco-African soul of Congo
Brazzaville is the capital of the Republic of Congo — a city of wide avenues, bougainvillea, and one of Africa's most extraordinary subcultures: the Sapeurs (Société des Ambianceurs et Personnes Élégantes), working-class men who don extravagant Parisian designer suits as a philosophy of dignity and joy. The twin cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa (separated by the Congo River at Stanley Pool/Pool Malebo) are only 4km apart — the closest pair of capital cities in the world. The Marché Total, the riverside promenade, and the Palais du Parlement define the city's character.
Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza founded the settlement in 1880 and signed a treaty with the Bateke king Makoko — the French used this as the basis for their claim over the Congo basin. Brazzaville became the capital of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. During World War II it was the capital-in-exile of Free France — Charles de Gaulle established his headquarters here (1940–43) as the only colonial capital actively resisting Vichy, giving the city enormous symbolic importance in French history. Independence came in 1960.