French soldiers opened fire on crowds of angry youths during days of mob violence and looting in Ivory Coast earlier this month, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.

French forces had previously said they fired warning shots during the unrest, but Alliot-Marie told France's RTL television on Sunday night the troops had most probably "made full use of their weapons" in some cases.

The mob violence erupted after government forces killed nine French soldiers and an American aid worker in a bombing raid on the rebel-held north, prompting the former colonial power to destroy most of Ivory Coast's small air force in retaliation.

The Ivorian government has repeatedly accused French forces of firing on crowds of unarmed demonstrators, particularly at the Hotel Ivoire in the main city, Abidjan. Paris has insisted the protesters were often armed with guns and machetes.

Alliot-Marie said the French troops sometimes had no choice but to open fire, particularly when they were returning from other parts of the country to protect French and other foreign nationals from attack in Abidjan.

"When they tried to stop our armoured vehicles from getting to Abidjan, to stop them from protecting our citizens and other foreigners who were victims of the violence, they had to fire," she said.

"Naturally, they fired warning shots and in some cases, most probably, they had to make full use of their firearms. That is the reality. There was nothing else that could be done."

Around 8,000 expatriates fled the world's top cocoa grower as militant supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo went on a looting rampage for several days. The government says 57 people were killed and more than 2,200 injured in the unrest.

Alliot-Marie said the troops had also fired to disperse crowds blocking two bridges linking residential and commercial parts of Abidjan to the airport.

She said the crowds were being forced to block the bridges by other protesters carrying arms.

"(The French troops) had to stop this crowd coming into contact (with the expatriates) otherwise there was a risk of a real massacre," she said.

The defence minister said the troops had remained calm throughout their mission.

"Faced with a crowd which was, after all -- this has not been said enough -- well-armed with Kalashnikovs (automatic rifles) and pistols and not just machetes, they showed composure and restraint," she said.

...Guiai Bi Poin said he was in charge of about 60 gendarmes outside Abidjan’s Hotel Ivoire to prevent demonstrators from storming the building.

He told AFP: “French troops fired directly into the crowd. They opened fire on the orders of their chief Colonel D’Estremon. Without warning.”

Guiai Bi Poin he said he was at the French colonel’s side in the hotel lobby throughout the night...

...Guiai Bi Poin said the crowd at the Hotel Ivoire was yelling insults but was unarmed.
“Not one of my men fired a shot,” he said. “There were no shots from the crowd. None of the demonstrators was armed — not even with sticks, or knives or rocks.”

He said that when he reported to the French commander on the day of the riot, he was told: “Colonel, my barbed wire has been crossed, and the crowd is getting excited. If they do not let us leave within 20 minutes, I am going to shoot.”

“Suddenly,” said Guiai Bi Poin, “there was a movement on our left and my gendarmes were pushed violently by the crowd. They fell back a meter or two. D’Estremon then said to me, ‘Colonel, the red line has been crossed. I am going to open fire. FIRE!’”

The officer said the French troops began shooting. “It was not a haphazard fusillade. It was carried out on the orders of their chief. And there was no warning.”

Guiai Bi Poin said he yelled at the French officer to fire in the air, to aim higher, “He did this but some of his men did not obey and some continued to fire on the crowd. I saw lots of people falling, but I do not know how many victims there were.”