France recalls extra troops

France has decided to withdraw soldiers it had sent to Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal following the overthrow of Ivoirian President Henri Konan Bedie, the French Foreign Ministry said. "The situation in Abidjan has returned to normal," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. "It has been decided to repatriate to France the Guepard unit (300 troops) that had been prepositioned in Dakar as well as the men who came from Libreville." Some 40 French soldiers from Gabon had been sent to Cote d'Ivoire following the coup to join the 550 already stationed at the French military base just outside Abidjan, AFP reported. AFP reported that French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has urged the European Union to hold consultations with the new Ivorian authorities under the Lome Convention between the EU and its African, Pacific and Caribbean (APC) partners.