LE MONDE (France)
PARIS - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's home and office were raided by police investigators on Tuesday, according to Le Monde. His lawyer's offices were also raided.
The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged illegal financing of Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign by billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, the French heiress and main shareholder of cosmetics giant L'Oreal. Magistrates are probing whether Patrick de Maistre, who managed Bettencourt's fortune, asked her to hand cash over to Sarkozy in order to finance his 2007 run for office.
Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential legal immunity expired on June 16, a little over a month after he was defeated by Socialist François Hollande in the French presidential elections.
The former French president left for Canada on a family trip Monday and was not present during the raids, according to his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, who called the police actions: "useless acts."
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