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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (1) Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared Fidel Castro to appear on Cuban television and radio 10:25am EDT Russia says Iran close to nuclear weapons 7:27am EDT Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters 03 Jul 2010 Uganda bombs kill 74, Islamists claim attack | Video 2:38pm EDT U.S. to issue new drilling ban | Video 4:51pm EDT Polanski freed as Swiss deny extradition | Video 4:35pm EDT U.S. troops face Afghan enemy too young to kill 11 Jul 2010 Federal Reserve worry list gets longer 11 Jul 2010 Germans shell-shocked by oracle octopus 06 Jul 2010 German fans want revenge grilling of oracle octopus 08 Jul 2010 Tired Gay succumbs to Dix in 200 meters 03 Jul 2010 Fidel Castro to appear on Cuban television and radio 10:25am EDT Uganda bombs kill 74, Islamists claim attack | Video 2:38pm EDT German fans want revenge grilling of oracle octopus 08 Jul 2010 Aon to buy Hewitt for $4.9 billion, creates HR giant 1:30pm EDT Consumer Reports will not recommend Apple iPhone 4 4:01pm EDT Russia says Iran close to nuclear weapons 7:27am EDT Oracle octopus gets own World Cup for winning streak | Video 3:25pm EDT Cable companies, networks mull smaller TV bundles 08 Jul 2010 Germans shell-shocked by oracle octopus 06 Jul 2010 Sarkozy tries to draw line under donations scandal Digg This Tweet This Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Related News Sarkozy says minister will carry on pension reform 2:25pm EDT Sarkozy advises minister to quit as party treasurer 2:31pm EDT Related Topics World » By Paul Taylor and Julien Ponthus PARIS | Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:39pm EDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, trying to draw a line under a damaging furor over alleged illegal political donations, urged a minister at the center of the affair to step down as treasurer of his ruling UMP party. Sarkozy said Labour Minister Eric Woerth had been exonerated of any wrongdoing by an official report, had his full confidence and would remain in charge of a crucial pensions reform. Asked whether he would fire Woerth, one of his closest political allies, Sarkozy said in a live television interview: "He is cleared of all suspicion, so there is no reason why I should get rid of him." But he said that to avoid any controversy, "I spoke to Eric Woerth and I asked him to devote himself exclusively to this important reform of pensions... My advice to him is to no longer exercise that responsibility (as treasurer)." The president said he was determined to see through the unpopular plan to raise the retirement age to 62 from 60 and make people contribute longer for a full pension despite expected trade union protests in September, to prevent France entering a debt spiral comparable with Greece or Portugal. He suggested the attacks on Woerth were aimed at torpedoing the pension reform. Saying he would not be rushed into action, Sarkozy said he would reshuffle the cabinet only after the pension law was adopted in October, and would not decide until autumn 2011 whether to run for a second five-year term in 2012. He went on prime time television to try to restore battered confidence hours after police searched the homes of France's richest woman and her close friend in a scandal that has rocked his government and driven his approval ratings to a record low. A former bookkeeper for L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt told police that the billionairess and her late husband made illegal cash donations to conservative politicians for years, including to Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign. The president was not asked directly whether his campaign had received such a cash donation. The homes of Bettencourt, 87, and society photographer Francois-Marie Banier were searched amid calls for the appointment of an independent magistrate to investigate the case involving alleged illegal political donations and suspected tax evasion. Sarkozy rejected any suggestion that the public prosecutor in charge of the case, who is a personal friend of his, was not independent. WOERTH MISTRUSTED In all, police carried out seven raids on Monday, the public prosecutor's office said. Witnesses said investigators were still combing a building adjoining Bettencourt's villa in the exclusive suburb of Neuilly late at night. The former bookkeeper has accused Woerth of taking an illegal 150,000 euro ($189,000) cash donation from Bettencourt's wealth manager. The minister and the wealth manager have both denied the allegation. The Finance Ministry's tax inspectorate concluded in a report rushed out on Sunday that Woerth had not intervened in the tax affairs of the Bettencourts, or their wealth manager or friends, while serving as budget minister until March. An opinion poll conducted before the report was released indicated most voters do not trust Woerth. The LH2 survey published on Monday found that 57 percent of respondents had no confidence in the minister and only 28 percent trusted him. The funding scandal contributed to the government's loss of an ultra-safe parliamentary seat to the left in a by-election on Sunday. Woerth was treasurer of Sarkozy's campaign and remained UMP treasurer while serving as budget minister in charge of tax matters, and his wife worked for Bettencourt's wealth manager, prompting accusations of conflicts of interest. In the television interview, Sarkozy tried to refocus public attention on the pension reform and the need for budget savings to bring down a public deficit of 8 percent of gross domestic product and public debt of more than 80 percent of GDP. He reaffirmed that France would keep its promise to cut the deficit to 6 percent of GDP next year and 3 percent in 2013. (Editing by Tim Pearce) World Comments See All Comments (1) | Post Comment Jul 12, 2010 2:46pm EDT In the entire world no individual or corporation needs more than a billion dollars. Mankind is ill-served when power of that concentration exists. LolaF Report As Abusive See All Comments (1) Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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