The Ivorian Republican Guard (french: Garde républicaine de Côte d'Ivoire) is an independent military formation in the
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
Alassane Ouattara
Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) In May 2017, soldiers in the guard revolted over a pay dispute.
Description
The Republican Guard (GR) support the military cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic in the same way as the Presidential Security Grouping (GSPR), the elements of which come from the land forces. The Republican Guard is responsible for security and honor missions for the benefit of the high authorities of the State and institutions. It is the only armed force authorized in national palaces. The guards are present at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
and the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
in
Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the ''de jure'' capital of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in Ivory Coast with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, t ...
, and the office of the Prime Minister and in the main ministries. Led by a general of the army corps, it is composed of a general staff, and 2 Groupings (one in Abidjan and one in Yamoussoukro), consisting of 2,500 men.
Republican Guard Band
It was on 1 October 1985 that the band was created with 65 volunteers at its beginning their duties in early December 1987. Today, it includes 100 musicians distributed in 3 ensembles: harmony, fanfare drums and orchestra. Its mission is to ensure military honors during the travels of the President of the Republic. It has commonly been associated with the
French Republican Guard Band
The Republican Guard Band (french: Orchestre de la Garde républicaine) is a military band unit of the French Republican Guard, which is part of the National Gendarmerie. The band is composed of 120 professional musicians from national conservato ...
and has received French training as well. The current head of the band is Vladimir Any-Grah.