French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to file a complaint against a news web site that claims to have evidence he was offered campaign financing from Muammar Gadafy for his first presidential bid.
Mr Sarkozy has vigorously denied the allegation, which was first claimed by one of the former Libyan leader's sons last year as France was pressing for international airstrikes against Gadafy's forces to end a crackdown on rebels.
Although no evidence has emerged that the funding ever took place, French web site Mediapart reported it had obtained a 2006 Libyan document signed by Gadafy's then-intelligence chief, Moussa Koussa, with an offer by the regime to spend $66 million on Mr Sarkozy's campaign.
Mr Sarkozy said that he would file a complaint before the end of the current presidential campaign, again denying that there was any truth to the claim.
"Those who lie, those who tell falsehoods should be condemned by the justice system," he told France 2 television.
Once the complaint is filed, prosecutors will have to decide if it warrants an investigation, which could lead to charges.
Mr Sarkozy, who is behind challenger Socialist Francois Hollande in the polls for Sunday's presidential run-off, also accused Mediapart of being a mouthpiece for the left.
Francois Bonnet, the editorial director for the site, rejected that accusation.
"It's simply grotesque and defamatory," he said.
Mr Hollande also dismissed the claim, saying he had no link to the site and noting that it sometimes goes after politicians on the left.
Agencies