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LV Ivory Coast President Felix Houphouet Boigny takes seat on dais
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GV troops march past (TWO SHOTS)
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GV crowd watching parade
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SV PAN troops in armoured vehicles drive past (THREE SHOTS)
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LV Houphouet Boigny and ministers watching parade
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GV timber trucks drive past
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GV industrial display on truck drives past followed by fruit and vegetable display on truck (TWO SHOTS)
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GV School children march past
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Initials KM/0330



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The Ivory Coast celebrated the eighteenth anniversary of its independence from France last week -- and this year the main celebrations marking the occasion were held in the northern town of Seguela, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the capital, abidjan.

SYNOPSIS: Ivory Coast President Felix Houphouet Boigny was guest of honour, together with many visiting politicians and diplomats from other African countries. Seguela is situated in the savanna region of the country -- and played host to the celebrations for the first time.

The processions took some two hours to pass through the streets and included representatives of all aspects of the social structure of the Ivory Coast. In an anniversary televisions broadcast President Houphouet Boigny said the Ivory Coast would stick to its liberal economic policies and would retain the country's fifty thousand white expatriate experts until sufficient nationals had been trained to replace them.

Seguela was chosen for the celebration as part of a scheme to help the development of different regions of the Ivory Coast.

In preparation the town was virtually rebuilt -- at the cost of massive capital investment. In keeping with the theme of illustrating the Ivory Coast's broad-based free economy, local farmers and school-children also figured prominently in the anniversary procession.