Former budget minister Eric Woerth is one of 10 people on trial over the alleged exploitation of Liliane Bettencourt

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

France’s former budget minister Eric Woerth denied he had received cash from Liliane Bettencourt to finance Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign as he gave evidence on Tuesday in a trial over the alleged exploitation of the L’Oréal heir.



He is one of 10 people in the 92-year-old Bettencourt’s entourage to stand trial in the south-west city of Bordeaux in an explosive drama involving a bitter mother-daughter feud, unscrupulous friends and a butler’s betrayal that briefly dragged in Sarkozy.

The 59-year-old ex-minister stands accused of possessing stolen goods. Bettencourt’s former accountant has accused Patrice de Maistre, the man who managed her fortune, of handing money over to Woerth when he was campaign treasurer for Sarkozy in his 2007 run for office.

“I know what I did, I know what I didn’t do,” Woerth told the court. “I did not receive cash from de Maistre to finance this campaign or anything else.”

The affair tarnished the latter half of Sarkozy’s presidency and when he lost the 2012 election, he was placed under formal investigation for illegal campaign financing and taking advantage of Bettencourt. But the charges against Sarkozy were dropped in October 2013 due to lack of evidence.

The trial has already seen other members of Bettencourt’s entourage take the stand – among them François-Marie Banier, a 67-year-old artist who is godfather to Johnny Depp’s daughter and who befriended the woman Forbes magazine describes as the world’s 10th richest person.

Banier is suspected of having taken advantage of the frail heir who showered him with gifts such as paintings by Picasso and Matisse, life insurance funds and millions of euros in cash.

But on Tuesday, the trial focused on the smaller amount of €50,000 (£37,100) that Woerth is suspected of having received from de Maistre.

Bettencourt’s former accountant, Claire Thibout, accuses de Maistre of having asked her in early 2007 to take out €150,000 for Woerth.

“It’s for Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign,” she claims he said. De Maistre denies ever having asked her for the money.

Thibout says she was only able to take out €50,000, which she gave to Bettencourt, who gave it to de Maistre – another claim he denies.

Woerth and de Maistre admit meeting up in January 2007, but the man who then became budget minister under Sarkozy said it was only to discuss potential donors for the latter’s ultimately successful campaign.