French Labour Minister denies wrong doing in police L’Oreal grilling

France’s embattled labour minister denied all wrongdoing yesterday during a marathon grilling by police on financial scandals surrounding the L’Oreal cosmetics heiress, his lawyer said.

“With particular vigour and energy, he denied receiving any political financing that was not in conformity with the law,” Jean-Yves Leborgne told reporters after Eric Woerth was questioned for eight hours at his ministry.

Mr Woerth, who has repeatedly protected his innocence in an affair that has dogged President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government for weeks, also denied lobbying to get his wife hired by a firm managing the L’Oreal heiress’s money. The minister had earlier said he wanted to talk to the police to clear the air, and early yesterday detectives turned up at the labour ministry to question him as a witness. Police made no comment after the interview.

The most politically dangerous allegation in the complicated controversy is that 87-year-old L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman, illegally bankrolled Mr Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign.

An investigation was launched after secretly recorded tapes appeared to reveal a conversation between Ms Bettencourt and a business adviser in which they allegedly discussed means of avoiding French tax.

Mr Woerth’s name also came up in the recording, during which the cosmetics billionaire appears to sign cheques for political donations, but the minister has firmly denied any conflict of interest.

Before taking up the work and pensions portfolio, Mr Woerth was budget minister and in charge of chasing down wealthy tax evaders.

He was also treasurer of Mr Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party and, as its chief fundraiser, has spent time with many of the country’s richest individuals to convince them to fund its political campaigns.

With a fortune estimated at €17 billion, Ms Bettencourt is France’s richest woman. Staff have told police that she and her late husband donated generously to right-wing candidates.

Earlier this year, tapes recorded by her butler were sent to the media and prosecutors, in which Bettencourt and her chief financial adviser Patrick de Maistre discuss her affairs and his ties to Mr Woerth.

After the scandal erupted, Claire Thibout, a former Bettencourt accountant, told police that Bettencourt had made illegal cash donations to Mr Woerth and to Mr Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign.