FRANCE: Plane belonging to Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo grounded as some local Ivorians in Paris heeded presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara's call to strike

Record ID: 181840

  • Title: FRANCE: Plane belonging to Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo grounded as some local Ivorians in Paris heeded presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara's call to strike
  • Date: 28th December 2010
  • Summary: MULHOUSE, FRANCE (DECEMBER 27, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SIGN READING: "EURO AIRPORT" JET AVIATION WAREHOUSE, PLANE OF IVORY COAST LEADER LAURENT GBAGBO IS 4TH FROM LEFT GBAGBO PLANE WITH LARGE STICKERS ON IT JET AVIATION WAREHOUSE FOUR PLANES AT WAREHOUSE
  • Embargoed: 12th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACL4WANTZ3SSNCGYA00ZUOU0B
  • Story Text: International pressure has piled on isolated Ivory Coast incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, to relinquish power after a November 28 vote in which electoral commission results showed he lost to Alassane Ouattara.
    A plane belonging to Gbagbo remained grounded on Monday (December 27) at the Franco-Swiss Basel/Mulhouse airport.
    A French foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday that the plane had been grounded at the request of "Ivory Coast's legitimate authorities".
    Gbagbo's aircraft has been hidden in a warehouse owned by Jet Aviations, a private company in charge of the maintenance of the plane. Green stickers were placed on the framework of the plane to hide its origin.
    In an interview with France's Le Figaro newspaper on Sunday, Gbagbo said he was not worried by the ECOWAS threat to remove him by force.
    He also said he was a victim of an international plot by France and the United States.
    France has dismissed the accusations as baseless.
    The United States and EU have slapped travel sanctions on Gbagbo and his inner circle, while the World Bank and the West African regional central bank have cut off his finances, which means he may soon have trouble paying troops.
    Ouattara called on Sunday for a nationwide general strike in Ivory Coast that would shut the country down until Gbagbo cedes power. Many workers in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan ignored the call, saying they must work in order to eat.
    Elsewhere, in Paris, Ouattara supporters said they had occupied the Ivorian embassy in Paris on Monday, calling on Gbagbo to step aside.
    French television reported that around 15 people had managed to enter the building and the embassy staff had peacefully left.
    Protesters remain in the building.
    A police spokesman had no immediate comment. Ambassador Pierre Kipre, a Gbagbo ally, was not in the embassy when Outtara's supporters occupied it, local media said.
    A cordon of around a dozen French police blocked access to the closed iron gates of the embassy, as groups of Ouattara's supporters gathered outside.
    "We are here since Ouattara has called for a general strike, to make Abidjan a dead city. That is why the youth have come here today. We respect the orders given . We have asked all the (embassy) staff to return home," President of the Houphouetists party for peace and democracy in France and embassy employee, Marcel Youpeh said.
    France's foreign minister said on Monday it would accredit a new Ivorian ambassador at the request of Ouattara's government, which it recognizes as the winner of last month's contested elections.
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