THE TELEGRAPH: The headquarters of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party has been raided by police as part of the L'Oreal [sic] electoral fraud scandal.
Three officers visited the building in Paris's 8th arrondissement on Wednesday afternoon following claims about the finances of Lilian [sic] Bettencourt, France's richest woman.
The 87-year-old L'Oreal [sic] heiress is said to have handed over envelopes full of cash to senior politicians including Sarkozy in return for the authorities overlooking tax avoidance on her multi-million pounds fortune.
During the latest raid connected with the case, detectives were said to be looking for a document proving that Eric Woerth, the employment minister, had recommended to Mr Sarkozy that Patrice de Maistre, Mrs Bettencourt's wealth manager, be given the Legion of Honour.
It was Mr Woerth himself who decorated Mr De Maistre with the medal in January 2008, three months after the financier gave Mr Woerth's wife, Florence, a highly paid job in his company.
Mr Woerth was the budget minister at the time, and meant to be looking for alleged tax avoiders like Mrs Bettencourt. Both Woerths deny a conflict of interest. >>> Peter Allen, in Paris | Thursday, September 09, 2010
