Sarkozy affair claim in secret cop’s diary

The diaries of the former head of France's secret police, which have been leaked to and published in the news magazine Le Point, contain a number of uncomfortable revelations about the country's political elite - including a claim that President Nicolas Sarkozy had an affair with the wife of one of his present Cabinet members.

The alleged episode - the cabinet minister is not named - is said to have taken place four years ago and is one of a multitude of damaging secrets reported by Le Point from the private notebooks of Yves Bertrand, who was central director of the powerful Renseignements Generaux (RG) spy agency for 12 years until 2004. These were seized by judges recently as part of an investigation into dirty tricks, and were somehow obtained by the magazine.

One of the unconfirmed entries says that Cecilia Sarkozy, the president's wife before they divorced and he married Carla Bruni, had been tipped off by the RG of his alleged infidelity. Bertrand's claim has the ring of truth. Since their divorce the former Mrs Sarkozy, whom Mr Bertrand described as a party animal, has often complained about her ex-husband's affairs.

Bertrand's regular informants included journalists who were paid, said Le Point. "These notebooks are a terrifying journey under the skirts of the Republic," said the magazine, which quoted only edited excerpts and blacked out many of the names. "One could laugh if this exercise in underhand police work had not sometimes broken careers, thwarted democracy and sometimes destroyed lives," it said.

But it isn't just Sarkozy who is blushing. The police chief, whose shadowy service had long been a political tool for French rulers, also recorded in 2003 that "[President] Chirac has been for a facelift in Canada."

President Sarkozy had Bertrand removed from his post in 2004, suspecting that he was involved in an attempt by Dominique de Villepin, his Cabinet rival, to blacken his name, and after winning the presidency he dismantled the police spy service. Bertrand, however, is unrepentant. He said: "It is normal that the boss of the RG should be kept informed at an early stage of events. I did not write much about private lives and if I did so, it was to protect members of the government." ·