Judge in Nicolas Sarkozy probe receives bullet in post

The judge has charged former president with taking financial advantage of France's richest woman.

The judge who charged former president Nicolas Sarkozy with taking financial advantage of France8217;s richest woman has received a bullet and a death threat in the post,say lawyers.

Jean-Michel Gentil,the most prominent of three judges investigating the case,received the threatening letter together with blank cartridges yesterday,the magistrate8217;s union SM said in a statement published on its website.

One of Gentil8217;s colleagues said the letter,which arrived at the judge8217;s offices in Bordeaux,contained threats against other magistrates. Police had been called in to investigate,the colleague added.

The SM,in its online statement,denounced what it called 8220;insulting statements8221; made by some of Sarkozy8217;s political allies which it said were designed to undermine the work of the judiciary.

It noted too that Sarkozy8217;s own lawyer,Thierry Herzog,had questioned Gentil8217;s impartiality.

The SM said a number of its members were targeted in the letter. Gentil is not a member of the union,one colleague told AFP.

Sarkozy8217;s lawyers are attempting to overturn last week8217;s decision by three examining magistrates to charge him in a case that threatens to destroy his hopes of a political comeback.

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He has repeatedly denied claims he accepted cash-stuffed envelopes from the world8217;s richest woman Liliane Bettencourt to fund his successful 2007 campaign. Medical experts say the mental faculties of the L8217;Oreal heiress began to deteriorate in 2006.

Sarkozy8217;s lawyer Herzog questioned Gentil8217;s impartiality in an interview with Sunday newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

Gentil last June put his name to an opinion column signed by dozens of legal professionals in the leading newspaper Le Monde accusing Sarkozy and his predecessor Jacques Chirac of 8220;wishing to protect the corrupt8221;,he pointed out.

Herzog said that five days after signing the column,Gentil ordered police to search Sarkozy8217;s home,office and his secretary8217;s house.

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A number of Sarkozy8217;s political supporters have also denounced the judge.

On Monday,Sarkozy used his Facebook page to insist he had not taken advantage of Bettencourt and vowed to clear his name.

With the right divided by in-fighting Sarkozy had,in recent weeks,hinted that he was considering a return to the frontline of French politics.