This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Comments by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that President Laurent Gbagbo is expected to win Cote d'Ivoire's presidential elections next year continued to provoke commentaries in the Ivorian press. The electoral process, especially the demand to extend the period for the processing of the irregularities in the provisional voters' lists, was also the subject of front-page stories. The World Bank's financial support to the ex-combatants reintegration program and a debt relief agreement signed by the Ivorian authorities and the Norwegian Ambassador in Cote d'Ivoire were the other major news items in the press. The dailies also reported on a Christmas concert organized last week by the US Embassy, the US Embassy's grants to support seven national Non-governmental Organizations in connection the US Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund (SSH) and the lunch PAS hosted for senior reporters yesterday.

1. "Does France pledge its allegiance to Gbagbo?" questioned a Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) in reaction to recent media reports quoting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner as saying about the up-coming presidential elections: "I think the Ivorian head of state, Laurent Gbagbo, is expected to win it." The paper went on to suggest that these comments from a top French diplomat could be part of France's moves "to harmonize" its relations with Gbagbo, who, according to the paper, has been branded for some years as a man not "good to do business with." The paper also speculated that, in the run-up to the Ivorian much-awaited elections, the French authorities are looking for what it called "the right leader for a new relationship between and France and Cote d'Ivoire." The French Foreign Minister's comments were also the subject of a reaction from an independent contributor published in Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party). The commentator asked Kouchner to attest whether Gbagbo's governance, that was scarred with "killings, massive embezzlements of state's funds, a decaying economy and poverty," was "good enough" for somebody to call for his re-election.

2. On the electoral process underway in Cote d'Ivoire, a front-page story in L'inter (an independent daily) said that four Ivorian civic groups are calling for the extension of the period for managing disputes and claims relating to irregularities on the provisional voters' lists. During a meeting yesterday, reported the paper, the groups announced that so far only 50 percent of the contentious cases of potential voters whose names appear on the lists have been resolved.

3. In a related development, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the Prime Minister) reported that the settling of the contested cases has been delayed due to technical problems. The paper further indicated that findings after a tour in many registration centers show that there is still a lot to do before the final compilation of the voters' list. The issue on whether to extend the period devoted to the processing of irregularities in the provisional voters' lists also made headlines in Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party), which quoted the head of the National Commission for the Supervision of the Identification (CNSI), Hua Koffi, as saying that "the Independent Electoral Commission has yet to consider any extension of the exercise." On the outcome of the exercise, Koffi reportedly said that out of the 350,000 petitions submitted throughout the country, 250, 000 have been processed so far.

4. "Ex-combatants to abandon their guns for FCFA 4 billion (about $8.7 million USD)," said a front-page story in Nord-Sud Quotidien. According to the paper, the Government of Cote d'Ivoire and the World Bank yesterday signed two agreements in connection with the reintegration of the former combatants and the civic education programs.

5. A report in L'intelligent d'Abidjan (an independent daily) said that, as part of Cote d'Ivoire's commitment to an International Monetary Fund-supported economic reform under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), the Norwegian Government has cancelled FCFA 4.4 billion (about $9.6 million USD) of Cote d'Ivoire's foreign debt. The report said that the agreement was signed yesterday in Abidjan by the Ivorian Economy and Finance Minister, Charles Koffi Diby and the Norwegian Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, Merete Lundema.

6. Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) reported that the US Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, Wanda L. Nesbitt, Monday signed grants estimated at $ 55.543 USD. The agreements, the paper said, were signed with seven local NGOs in connection with the U.S. Ambassador's Special Self-Help Fund (SSH) aimed at supporting initiatives in favor of rural development. "The United States offers $55.000 USD to support activities in rural communities," said a story on www.panapress.com, the website of the pan-African news agency.

7. Notre Heure (a daily close to the opposition) reported that in prelude to the celebration Christmas, PAO Sita Liane Chakrawarti gave a concert at INSAAC, a music school in Abidjan.

8. Le Mandat (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party) briefly reported on a lunch offered yesterday by the PAO to senior Ivorian journalists from print and broadcast media outlets. The PAO used the occasion to present her New Year best wishes to the journalists the paper said.