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Old July 10th, 2010 #13
alex revision
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Default Sarkozy furious at France's scandal obsession

Sarkozy furious at France's scandal obsession

France's hot-tempered president criticized his nation's obsession with scandal Tuesday after a bombshell that France's richest woman made a huge illegal donation to his 2007 campaign.

"I would love it so much if the country could excite itself over the big problems ... rather than to get wrapped up in the first horror, a slander with only one goal, to smear with no basis in reality," Nicolas Sarkozy snapped, citing issues such as health care, the economy or his pension reforms.

France's political world has been shaken for weeks by a court case revealing the government's cosy relationship with tax-evading billionaire Liliane Bettencourt as well as expense scandals that led to the resignations of two ministers over the weekend.

Sarkozy and his government are beset by the latest revelation, with a new report alleging that Bettencourt, Europe's richest woman and heiress of cosmetics giant L'Oreal, contributed about $232,000 in cash to Sarkozy's campaign.

French law limits donations by individuals to a maximum of about $300 in cash.

The money was allegedly given through Labour Minister Eric Woerth, the one-time "Mr. Clean" who is the longtime treasurer of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party.

Woerth's wife was a financial adviser to Bettencourt at the time she was recorded discussing plans to evade taxes by putting money in Swiss banks.

The widely-circulated media report, quoting a former Bettencourt bookkeeper named Claire T., also said Sarkozy regularly visited Bettencourt and her now-deceased husband when he was mayor of an upper-income city outside Paris from 1983 to 2002, leaving after lunch with envelopes of cash. Sarkozy didn't address in any detail the allegations, but his government came out with guns blazing.

"This is slander, this is a systematic destabilization campaign," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said.

"We will not be intimidated by these methods and I want to say that those who are involved in this manhunt, or slanderous accusations, should ask themselves if they still have a conscience."

Woerth said he won't resign since that would be an admission of guilt. "I've been treasurer of my party for eight years and I think no one can accuse me of anything. Everything is clear, everything is clean.

"You can always believe any old rumour, but I never received a single euro in politics that wasn't legal."


http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Sar...#ixzz0mO8P8jJp