PARIS The corruption scandal at French oil giant Elf continued to reverberate through the political establishment on Monday as convicted former foreign minister Roland Dumas implicated two serving ministers in the ruling socialist government in a cover-up, AFP said.

In an interview with the daily *** Le Figaro ***, Dumas, who was sentenced in May to six months in prison for receiving illegal gifts from the formerly state-owned oil company, hit out at Employment Minister Elisabeth Guigou and Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine.

He implied that both ministers were aware of the huge commissions Elf paid out in the late 1980s and early 1990s for various projects, including the controversial 1992 purchase of the Leuna Oil Refinery in the former East Germany.

"If you're asking if I'm being made to pay for Madame Guigou, I can't deny that," Dumas told the conservative newspaper. "She was justice minister during the entire Elf investigation and I don't believe she always acted in the best interest of the justice system."

He also confirmed allegations by former Elf boss Loik Le Floch-Prigent that both Guigou and Vedrine were aware of commissions Elf paid to the CDU Party of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in order to clinch the Leuna deal.

An investigation has been opened into the affair.

At the time of the deal, Guigou was minister in charge of European affairs and Vedrine was a senior advisor to the late president Francois Mitterrand.

"When Le Floch says he consulted the president and that everyone around him at the Elysee knew of the affair -- Madame Guigou, Monsieur Vedrine -- that has to be true," he said.

Dumas said the then prime minister Edouard Balladur also approved of the kickbacks because -- like Mitterrand -- he believed it was in France's best interest.

"I note, however, that he has never been questioned on the subject," the 78-year-old Dumas said.

Vedrine, Balladur and Guigou expressed surprise at Dumas' allegations on Monday and denied knowledge of the payments. "I never heard about these commissions until much later," Vedrine told French Radio.

Guigou for her part said in a statement that she had never taken part in negotiations linked to the Leuna deal.

"Roland Dumas appears unable to accept the fact that this government chose not to intervene in judicial affairs," she said, referring to her role as justice minister. "Everyone must be given equal treatment before the law."

Dumas' interview with **** Le Figaro ***, his first since his conviction in May, suggested a determination to go on the counter-offensive and reveal damaging information about other politicians unless his sentence is overturned on appeal.

"Many people don't want the truth to come out," he told the newspaper. "And that is what will be at stake in the coming weeks."

Le Floch-Prigent, sentenced in the Elf affair to three and a half years in prison, has also given several interviews in recent weeks in which he has accused right- and left-wing politicians of benefitting from Elf's largesse.