Sarkozy to be questioned in Bettencourt donations scandal

Sarkozy faces allegations of accepting thousands of euros from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when he ran for office five years ago.

Police raided his home and offices in July as part of an inquiry ordered by investigating judge Jean-Michel Gentil.

Sarkozy, who lost presidential immunity in May, denies all wrongdoing.

He will appear before the judge in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.

Although he has stepped back from frontline politics since his defeat by Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, Sarkozy is rumoured still to harbour ambitions of running for re-election in 2017.

The outcome of the investigation could determine whether the former president will make his widely anticipated return, our correspondent says.

Judge Gentil is leading the investigation into allegations that staff acting for Bettencourt gave €150,000 in cash to Sarkozy's aides during his successful 2007 campaign to become president.

Individual campaign contributions in France are limited to €4,600.

Bettencourt's former accountant, Claire Thibout, alleges Sarkozy's campaign treasurer at the time - Eric Woerth, who later became budget minister, collected the cash in person.

She also revealed in a leaked police interview that Sarkozy, while mayor of Neuilly from 1983 to 2002, paid "regular" visits to the Bettencourt house, our correspondent says.

The former president has dismissed as mere gossip claims that he took envelopes stuffed with cash.

Woerth, who was forced to resign as UMP party treasurer in July as a result of the scandal, is already under formal investigation over the €150,000 payment allegations.

The allegations surrounding Sarkozy and Woerth first surfaced in connection with a trial over the estimated €17 billion fortune of Mrs Bettencourt, 87, whose father founded the L'Oreal cosmetics giant.

Both Woerth and Sarkozy deny any wrongdoing, as does Bettencourt.