The French minister of foreign affairs, Bernard Kouchner, promised on Friday to call Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba, who has been furious over a report on his real estate in France, to resolve the diplomatic row triggered by the publication. “I am going to call him this afternoon. We are going to reach an agreement,” Mr Kouchner said at a news conference. The report on the personal property of President Bongo and his family broadcast on Monday evening on France 2 has caused a diplomatic crisis between Paris and Libreville. The Gabonese government on Wednesday handed a protest note to the Ambassador of France in Libreville against “the media smear campaign” against President Bongo Ondimba and the “unilateral” expulsion of Gabonese citizens from France. “We are going to discuss all the issues raised by the Gabonese authorities who h ave, for the record, signed with us an agreement on the management of migratory flows. I am sure that we are going to reach an agreement,” Mr Kouchner said. Panapress.
