Franceville

Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 56,000 (2010, approx.) people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former slaves and renamed it "Francheville" (meaning "city of the freed" in French) in 1880. The city later came to be called Franceville.