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SV: President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast walking across courtyard of Elysee Palace Paris, France.
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SV: Houphouet-Boigny up Palace steps and entering with President Giscard d'Estaing of francs.
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CU & LV: Ivorian Flag on car outside Palace. (TWO SHOTS)
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SV: Houphouet-Boigny out of Palace and shaking hands with Giscard d'Estaing
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CU: Houphouet-Boigny speaking to newsmen (in French)
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Initials JS/2415



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast has called for peaceful negotiations to settle differences in Africa. Speaking to reporters in Paris, on Friday (September 2) after a meeting with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, he said Africa could be split by violence if opposing factions did not settle their differences by talking instead of fighting.

SYNOPSIS: The Ivory Coast President was one of four Francophone African leaders to have talks with president Giscard d'Estaing at the Elysee Palace in the French capital during a period of a few days. The others included Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of Mauritius; President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo; and President Leopold Senghor of Senegal.

President Houphoet-Boigny, one of Africa's elder statesmen and oldest rulers, spoke to reporters after his meeting with the French leader. Their talks were one of a series of routine consultations that President Giscard d'Estaing frequently holds with leaders of former French colonies. The Ivorian head of state told newsmen that he and President Giscard d'Estaing discussed ways of avoiding racist wars in Africa, which would involve unpredictable consequences for those involved.

He reminded reporters that at the Organisation of African Unity summit in Gabon earlier this year, the Ivory Coast called on all feuding African freedom fighters to get together and talk to avoid situations like Angola where they fought each other instead, said President Houphouet-Boigny, while nothing could stop people who believed in force, he was confident that wisdom could one day triumph before Africa was completely divided.