French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said on Sunday that France is not in any way to destabilize Cote d'Ivoire and its institutions or to take sides, but to preserve its constitutional legality.  

"That is all that this is about, ensuring security. Security not destabilization," Barnier said in a statement as France sent additional troops to the West African country after clashes on Saturday killed nine French soldiers.

He called for restoration of peace over the situation in Abidjan, saying "France's only objective is peace."

French declared Sunday it will send about 300 soldiers as well as 60 policemen as reinforcements to its West African former colony Cote d'Ivoire in addition to the 300 men announced earlier to protect some 15,000 French citizens in the Ivorian economic capital of Abidjan.

Clashes broke out Saturday between French and Ivorian governmental forces, killing nine French soldiers and injuring 22 others.

Ivorian Parliament Speaker Mamadou Koulibaly affirmed earlier on Sunday on French Inter Radio that some 30 Ivorians were killed and 100 others injured by French forces. But French Defense Ministry denied the death toll in Ivorian forces.

Currently, about 4,000 French soldiers are deployed in Cote d'Ivoire to support UN peacekeepers in the country.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said Sunday that the situation in Ivory Coast is under control but remains tense.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2004)