Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader in the French presidential race, has vigorously denied claims he cut a secret deal to save the outgoing president Jacques Chirac from corruption charges in return for his political support. As the election campaign enters its final stages, Mr Sarkozy, who is trying to shake off his image as a man who frightens people, was forced onto the defensive for the third time in less than a week.He described claims that, if elected, he would let his predecessor off by introducing a law containing a "disguised amnesty" as "grotesque, damaging and untrue".
"I deny it in the fullest and firmest of terms," he said.
The allegations came a day after Mr Sarkozy responded to fierce criticism of his suggestion that paedophilia may be a genetic trait. Less than a week ago, he was forced to refute reports that he had threatened to "smash in" a former government colleague's face.
Gallic election campaigns tend to be comparatively gentle affairs that avoid the personal mud-slinging characteristic of those in Britain and the United States. With just ten days to go before the first round of voting, however, and with Mr Sarkozy appearing to pull ahead in the polls, it is clear the gloves are off. The latest controversy to engulf the ambitious former interior minister erupted after the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé cited sources "close to" Mr Chirac saying a deal had been struck between the two men.
In return for his public support, Mr Sarkozy promised to draft legislation two months after taking office to spare Mr Chirac from appearing before judges, it claimed. It said the new law would contain a "hidden amnesty" for Mr Chirac by forcing judges to close cases more than ten years old.
It said the agreement was reached "several weeks ago" after much discussion. In March, after weeks of prevarication, Mr Chirac, 74, announced he would support his former rival Mr Sarkozy. "Sarkozy committed himself, in the event of victory, to save the outgoing president from any legal problems coming back at him," said the paper.