LIBREVILLE, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Some 2,000 people protested in Libreville on Saturday against French non-governmental groups that have denounced Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba's acquisition of luxury homes in France.

'Gabonese civil society doesn't want self-proclaimed advocates. We don't need them, neither in France nor elsewhere,' said Ghislain Etoughet, president of a group named Don't Touch My President, which includes unions and other associations.

In a letter to the presidency the group said: 'We want to show our strongest condemnation toward the biased and wreckless actions taken by these French NGOs and associations.'

In July, the French chapter of the Transparency International anti-corruption watchdog filed a complaint against five African heads of state, including Bongo, whom it accuses of owning French properties bought with embezzled money.

The French newspaper Le Monde and the television network France 2, citing French police reports, reported in March that Bongo and his family owned 33 properties in France, including a private hotel in Paris bought in 2007 for 18.8 million euros.

The reports caused tensions between the two countries, with Gabon threatening to review relations with France.