Socialist presidential hopeful Francois Hollande will be questioned by police in an inquiry into charges of attempted rape brought by a French writer against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The lawyer for writer Tristane Banon said she had told the Socialist politician about the alleged incident in 2003 when he was first secretary of the party, raising questions as to how much he knew and whether he should have raised the alarm.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, once the Socialist Party's leading candidate for next year's French presidential election, was arrested by New York police in May on charges of attempting to rape a hotel maid.
The case has damaged the Socialist Party and threatens to poison the run-up to the presidential election next April.
"There's nothing new. Mr Hollande isn't being targeted in particular," the source told Reuters, confirming a report in today's Le Figaro newspaper that the Socialist would be interviewed by investigators.
The source did not say when police would question Mr Hollande, who is currently leading opinion polls for the election.
Mr Hollande himself told Le Monde newspaper Banon's mother had contacted him at the time of the alleged incident, and he had suggested the police should be contacted if there was a problem.
"I've nothing to hide and nothing to feel uneasy about but I will not allow this case to be exploited politically," Le Monde quoted him as saying.
French police are questioning a number of people with links to the case in a preliminary investigation to establish whether a fully-fledged inquiry is justified.
Yesterday, Mr Strauss-Kahn's daughter from his second marriage, Camille Strauss-Kahn, was interviewed. Her mother, Brigitte Guillemette, was questioned on Friday, the legal sources said.
Ms Banon filed a legal complaint at the start of July, alleging that Mr Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her in 2003 when she went to interview him in a sparsely furnished flat in Paris.
Investigators have opened a priminary probe to assess the merits of the complaint, cross-checking dates and addresses and summoning for questioning people that Ms Banon refers to in her allegation.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has filed a counter-claim for defamation.