Did Sarkozy Receive Illegal Donations?

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is finding himself pulled into the Liliane Bettencourt scandal, which has been making headlines in France. Now, an accountant for the billionaire L’Oréal heiress has alleged that her former boss—who is engulfed in a tax-evasion scandal—donated €150,000 (around $190,000) in cash in one year to Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign, an amount that exceeds the legal limit of €7,500 a year. The accountant, Claire Thibout, said the cash was given to party treasurer Eric Woerth, who is now the government minister in charge of pension reform. Although Woerth denies the accusation—saying he “never, ever received a single euro”—and Sarkozy called it “slander,” the public prosecutor has begun an inquiry into the allegations. Woerth accused the rival Socialist Party of orchestrating the scandal, and tensions got so high last week that Socialist ministers walked out of a parliament session.