French prime minister accused of smear campaign

FRENCH Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is facing a fresh battle to keep his job following accusations that he contributed to a smear campaign against his chief rival for the presidency, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.

The latest row stems from what is called the Clearstream affair — a complex politico-legal case running back several years and involving allegations of kickbacks over the sale of warships to Taiwan, money-laundering and high-level corruption. The matter jumped into the media spotlight last week when the Le Monde newspaper ran an account from a senior secret service agent who reportedly said he was asked to investigate possible links between Mr Sarkozy and Clearstream. He said the request was made at the behest of Mr de Villepin, on President Jacques Chirac’s orders. The “revelation” was seen as crucial because an investigating magistrate had determined that an anonymously-sent list tying Mr Sarkozy and other prominent names in the French political and business worlds to Clearstream was bogus and designed to slander.

Today and tomorrow, Mr de Villepin will face tough questioning over the matter when parliament reconvenes. Tomorrow will also see a tension-filled cabinet meeting with Mr Chirac, Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy at the same table.