Lavender Degre, 37, a Zambian who runs a nonprofit group here, said mobs looted her son's school this week. The family spent Thursday morning in line, waiting to join the exodus to Paris.
"My husband is white, and we're scared," she said. "We've been here for 10 years, and this is the first time we're really scared."
French nationals board a military vessel to leave Abidjan. Violence has reigned in Ivory Coast since Saturday, when bombs killed 10 people.
(Luc Gnago -- Reuters)
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Gbagbo, in the interview, expressed little concern over such departures. "They will come back," he said, wagging his finger in the air. "You must come back in three months. They will be there."
He displayed more worry about the world's perception of the past week's events. As he explained it, a longtime war with anti-government rebels was nearing its end after the government suddenly broke a peace deal Friday and resumed attacks on rebel positions.
Gbagbo said the French military intervention had prevented his forces from finishing the job. The embattled leader, who took office in 2000 after an aborted vote count in national elections, has long maintained that the French support the rebellion.
"The government of Jacques Chirac never accepted that I have reached the position of president," he said.
The mobs of Gbagbo supporters want the French military to leave Ivory Coast. In interviews, many said the military presence is a remnant of the colonial era that ended with Ivory Coast's freedom in 1960.
Thousands of Young Patriots have gathered in recent days outside state television and radio stations and outside the president's home. Their numbers dwindled Thursday, but those who remained said they would continue their demonstrations until the French forces leave.
"I'm here to protect my country," said Marielaure Kone, 37, who runs a small clothing shop in Abidjan. "The French attacked us."
