The year started in a complete stalemate with two governments and two presidents: the president-elect, Alassane Ouattara, recognised by the international community and trapped in an Abidjan hotel under UN protection, and his defeated but defiant predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to step down and controlled the country's southern half with the support o f the military. This unsustainable situation ended in an open war in Abidjan, the defeat of Gbagbo's camp in April and the conquest of the whole country by pro-Ouattara troops, followed by a return to legality after eight years of crisis. Then began the long and challenging process of reconciliation, the reconstruction o f crumbling infrastructure and the rebuilding of the economy. This gradual normalisation was reinforced by the election o f a new parliament in December