ABIDJAN – At least 237 people were arrested on Saturday in the Ivory Coast during a protest against what activists called the authoritarian drift of the country, according to a statement by the Minister of the Interior and Security on national television.

Protesters reported the use of tear gas and makeshift roadblocks near the planned start of the march.

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Ivory Coast , a nation of 32 million and the largest economy in Francophone West Africa, is due to hold a presidential election in two weeks. Earlier this year, four main opposition figures, including former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running by the electoral commission.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara , who has been in power since

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