"Ivory Coast" president Gbagbo has said that the presence of French "peacekeeping troops" in Ivory Coast reminds him of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
France has destroyed the small Ivory Coast Air Force. Fifty French armored vehicles have surrounded Gbagbo's residence and the fear is that France will oust the leader.
Many "Westerners" have been evacuated.
French troops have fired warning shots into crowds and hundreds of Ivory Coasters stood in a line to block a 70 vehicle French convoy from entering the city of Abidjan. There's looting in Abidjan.
The French Defense Ministry said it destroyed three helicopters in Yamoussoukro, the nation's seat of government, in what it called a "pre-emptive strike".
Protestors held up a sign saying "Chirac is worse than bin Laden". You can see it here.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/11/16...e.ap/index.html
Another sign read "Ivory Coast is a sovereign state." Protesters chanted against the French "The whites don't like the blacks, but we don't care!"