THE TELEGRAPH: Eric Woerth, the minister at the heart of the French political funding scandal announced he would step down as treasurer of Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party to quell suggestions of a conflict of interest.
Mr Woerth had been under pressure to drop the treasurer and party fund-raiser post following allegations over campaign donations from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
He was accused of a conflict of interest as Mrs Bettencourt, 87, employed his wife to help manage her fortune and had failed to declare Swiss bank accounts while Mr Woerth was budget minister and on a mission to fight tax fraud.
A finance ministry report released on Sunday cleared Mr Woerth of having intervened to protect Mrs Bettencourt from tax scrutiny while he was budget minister.
However, question marks remain over allegations by Mrs Bettencourt's former accountant that Mr Woerth accepted 150,000 euros (£125,000) in illegal cash donations from France's richest woman. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
