PARIS French President Jacques Chirac denied all knowledge on Thursday of an illegal political party funding scheme alleged to have been orchestrated by his Conservative RPR Party.
In a combative television interview, Chirac also said he would refuse to testify if called as a witness in the case.
He said he could not believe his own party was at the center of the alleged kickbacks scam and hit out at the media for what he said was an attempt to scare the French people into believing the political system was rotten.
"It is extremely dangerous," Chirac said. "I say no' and I say to the French people 'you are not living in a country where corruption reigns'." The French political world has been electrified by mounting allegations that the RPR was at the heart of a massive corruption scheme in the Paris region in the 1980s and early 1990s during Chirac's tenure as mayor of the capital.
Magistrates believe the RPR demanded hefty bribes from construction firms in return for lucrative contracts to build schools and shared the spoils with Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Socialist Party and a minor right-wing political party.
"I didn't know for the simple reason that as president of the RPR, I never dealt with ... the funding problem," Chirac told TF1 television in a rare live interview.
"I would be the first to condemn it if it were shown there was a system where the parties got together to share some cake, but honestly I don't believe it," he said.
Calls for Chirac to tell France precisely what he knew have grown since one of his former top aides, Michel Roussin, was briefly detained earlier this month as investigating magistrates upped the pressure.
The conservative newspaper Le Figaro spoke on Wednesday of the "biggest scandal of the fifth republic".
Chirac Slams Media Chirac was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995, when he was elected president at his third attempt. He and Jospin are expected to face each other in presidential elections in 2002.
Chirac said alleged improper contributions from businesses occurred at a time when political parties were stretched for campaign funds and the laws on party funding were unclear.
"It's quite probable that there was an understanding with a business here or there," Chirac said, adding that wrongdoers should be punished if found guilty.
But he accused the French media of reporting events that date back 10 years as if they were current, and of scaring people into believing France faced a political and moral crisis.
Since Chirac moved to the Presidential Elysee Palace, accusation of graft during his lengthy spell as mayor of Paris have grown steadily.
Chirac himself has not been placed under formal investigation in the probes and under a controversial 1999 constitutional court ruling a president enjoys immunity from prosecution for all but treason charges.
Chirac said he would also not be prepared to testify if called as a witness, despite what he said was a "natural inclination to accept" in order to set the record straight.
"The head of state takes his power from all the people of France.
He is the guarantor of the continuity of the state and cannot be subjected to legislative power, judicial power or military power," Chirac said.
The schools scandal ties in with beyond-the-grave accusations from former RPR official Jean-Claude Mery that were made public in September.
The charges, taped four years ago, three years before the official died, accused Chirac of setting up a huge covert funding system in Paris. Mery said the president was present when one payout of five million francs was handed over.
Chirac said he had been shocked and hurt by the allegations.
(Reuter)