President Jacques Chirac plans to fire the heads of France's intelligence and counter-intelligence services on suspicion they launched inquiries against him, the daily Le Monde reported today.
The president believes the spy bosses ordered or tolerated investigations into alleged links with Lebanese Prime Minister Mr Rafik al-Hariri and Japanese financier Mr Shoichi Osada, former chairman of the failed Tokyo Sowa Bank, the paper said.
Mr Jean-Claude Cousseran, head of France's equivalent of the CIA, and Mr Jean-Jacques Pascal, head of the internal state security department, stand to lose their jobs now that presidential and legislative elections gave full powers to Mr Chirac, the article said.
Mr Chirac also believes Mr Pascal's department stirred up old rumours that a covert ransom was paid to Iran in 1988 for the release of five French hostages held by Lebanese militia groups and that French politicians pocketed part of the cash, the article said.
Mr Chirac, who was prime minister at the time of the hostage crisis, has always denied his government paid a ransom. Le Monde said the head of state was furious that the issue re-emerged just months before the latest presidential election.
Officials from the Elysee presidential palace, who were accompanying Mr Chirac at a summit of EU leaders in Seville, had no immediate comment on the firings article, the source for which Le Monde did not specify.
Le Monde said Mr Chirac vented his suspicions to then-Prime Minister Mr Lionel Jospin in a tense confrontation last year. But Mr Jospin, then Socialist leader, insisted his leftist coalition government had nothing to do with the inquiries.
Mr Chirac's first term as president was clouded by sleaze allegations dating back to his 1977-95 stretch as mayor of Paris. Most of the accusations centred on allegations that kickbacks had been paid to Mr Chirac's conservative Rally for the Republic (RPR) party.
Mr Chirac denied knowing of any wrongdoing and has exercised a presidential right to immunity to refuse to give evidence in judicial investigations into the sleaze scandals.