Hollande in Cameroon: Anti-France activist arrested in Douala

Ahead of the arrival of French president Francois Hollande in Cameroon in 6 hours, raids and arrests are increasing in parts of the capital.

On Wednesday in Etoudi, a neighborhood near the presidential palace, police conducted raids and several people without national identity card (NIC) were arrested.

At the Mokolo market, the police had a scuffle with traders who protested against the operation.

Meanwhile, government has undertaken emergency works on the road linking the Nsimalen airport to downtown Yaounde, a road that will be used by Hollande and his motorcade. Electricity poles have also been painted white.

In Douala, the activist André Blaise Manka, was summoned by the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance, where he underwent interrogation. The reason for the summons is the activist's "beheading" of the statue of General Leclerc. "The police asked me to give back the head so that they free me, I refused and demanded that France file a case against me and not Cameroon. I am ready to be before the judges," he wrote on his Facebook page from his prison cell that it's his way of welcoming the French president.

Regarding the visit of the French president, a one-hour discussion is planned between Biya and Hollande at the Unity Palace. At the same time, other meetings are planned between French and Cameroonian parliamentarians and the delegation of businessmen and investors in Cameroon.

On the agenda of the discussion between Biya and Hollande, opinions suggest the case of the French lawyer Lydienne Yen Eyoum, sentenced to 25 years in prison, will be raised; also the economic relationship with France. France is losing many market shares in Cameroon in favor of China, a country which France has secular relations but sometimes tumultuous, experiencing the rise of a French anti sentiment fueled by some media.

The bad news for the media is that no press conference is planned. Journalists will only have a declaration made to the press, said the program established by the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic.