State funeral begins for Gabon's Bongo

2009-06-16 13:04:00 -

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) - African heads of state and France's president laid wreaths beside the coffin of Gabon's late leader Omar Bongo as his official state funeral began Tuesday in the marble hall of the Central African nation's presidential palace.
Bongo died June 8 at a clinic in Spain, ending a 41-year rule, the longest

of any leader in Africa. At the time of his death, Bongo was the world's longest serving president.
Mourners included French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his predecessor Jacques Chirac. Their presence underscores France's enduring relationship with one of the continent's most corrupt rulers _ a relationship strained since a French court launched an investigation two years ago into the over 30 homes and apartments owned by Bongo, his wives and children in France.
When the pair arrived at the palace in a stretch limousine, that anger was manifest as crowds outside began shouting: «No to France! No to France
Inside the palace, however, the two men were applauded as they bowed their heads and laid wreaths of red and white roses at the foot of Bongo's coffin.
Bongo has lain in state since his body arrived from Spain on Thursday.
After foreign dignitaries pay their last respects, the coffin will be carried outside for a military procession. On Thursday, Bongo will be buried in a private ceremony in the southeastern town of Franceville, capital of his native province.
Bongo's coffin is draped in Gabon's blue, yellow and green-striped flag. The red carpet leading to it was strewn with white and red rose petals; the florist responsible for the display said that several thousand roses had been flown in from France for the funeral.
Most of this country's 1.5 million people have known no other president. Bongo came to power in 1967 in a back-room deal brokered by former French President Charles De Gaulle's government.