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May 30, 2011

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French minister quits amid sex claims

A JUNIOR minister in French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right government resigned yesterday after he was accused of sexual harassment by two women, the government said.

One of Georges Tron's accusers said she had been encouraged to speak up by the arrest two weeks ago of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French head of the International Monetary Fund, on charges he attempted to rape a chambermaid in New York City.

French prosecutors have opened an inquiry into the accusations against Tron, the minister in charge of the civil service. "Mr Georges Tron ... (yesterday) informed Prime Minister Francois Fillon of his resignation from the government," the prime minister's office said.

"The Prime Minister, together with the President of the Republic, takes note of this decision, which does not in any way prejudice the next steps the justice system will take with regard to the complaints made against Georges Tron, the legitimacy of which he contests," the statement said.

On Saturday, Tron told Le Parisien that the question of his resignation was a valid one. "I do not want to become an embarrassment," he said. Tron's lawyer, Olivier Schnerb will file a defamation complaint in response.

 

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