French President Nicolas Sarkozy faced a fourth day of a growing scandal involving alleged illegal donations from the billionaire owner of the L'Oreal cosmetics dynasty.
President Sarkozy will make a rare summer address to the nation amid mounting pressure on his government over a key pension reform and questions about political donations.
A former accountant to Liliane Bettencourt told a media website that the 87-year-old heiress had given €150,000 in cash to Mr Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
Police are trying to find out whether L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and her late husband made illegal donations to conservative politicians for the 2007 election campaign.
Yesterday, the President's aides pounced on a reported retraction from the former accountant to Ms Bettencourt that Mr Sarkozy had regularly collected envelopes stuffed with cash when he visited her villa in a Paris suburb.
The report came after a day-and-a-half of questioning by police.
The Élysée Palace, which has staunchly denied that President Sarkozy benefitted from illegal donations, said ‘the truth had been restored’.
But last night, Claire Thibout's lawyer said she was sticking by her allegations that an illegal donation was made and he added that the former accountant had come under enormous pressure from prosecutors to drop her claims.
The French media has largely depicted President Sarkozy as unable to confront the scandal or take decisive action.
Labour Minister Eric Woerth, who is the architect of a hugely controversial pension reform plan, is still in the thick of the scandal.
As treasurer of Mr Sarkozy's party, Mr Woerth is alleged to have collected an illegal donation of €150,000 for the 2007 campaign.
His wife was a tax advisor to Ms Bettencourt, who has been accused of evading millions in tax.
