PARIS >> French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says negotiators are close to convincing Ivory Coast’s embattled leader Laurent Gbagbo to leave office.

Juppe told French lawmakers on Tuesday that he believes Gbagbo’s departure is near.

Officials have said Gbagbo is holed up in a bunker at his home and exploring different options for his surrender after forces backing the country’s democratically elected leader, Alassane Ouattara, seized the residence.

United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters on Gbagbo’s arsenal Monday.