President Nicolas Sarkozy came under pressure today after a newspaper said his staff had faked the electoral roll to enable the French leader to vote in last month's local ballot.
The investigative Canard Enchaine weekly said the president missed the December 31st 2007 deadline to register at his local voting office and that aides added his name to the list on January 3rd, but backdated the entry to make it appear legitimate.
Presidential officials declined to comment on the report, which was widely quoted by the French media, and government spokesman Luc Chatel side-stepped the allegations during repeated questioning at his weekly news conference.
"I note that his enrolment in the lists was validated by the (local) electoral commission ... which is the sole authority in such matters," he said, refusing to be drawn on when Mr Sarkozy's name was actually penned into the register. Opposition Socialist politicians demanded an explication.
"If this is proven, it means documents have been pre-dated to enable someone to vote, which is not allowed. That is called forging public documents," said former Socialist prime minister, Laurent Fabius. Such an offence carries a maximum seven year prison term in France.
However, there was no suggestion that Sarkozy himself changed the date on the registration forms. The Canard Enchaine said Mr Sarkozy's local mayor was livid when he discovered the entry had been faked, and only calmed down when the Elysee promised that he would be chosen to officiate at Mr Sarkozy's forthcoming marriage to Carla Bruni.
The mayor denied this suggestion today, saying it was a "total invention".