The drug-taking habits, sexual appetites and even the face lifts of some of France's most senior politicians have been revealed in eye-watering detail after the secret notes of an intelligence chief were leaked. Described by Le Point, the magazine which published the papers, as a "voyage under the skirts of the Republic", the extracts of the handwritten diaries of Yves Bertrand delve deep into private lives of France's political elite. Mr Bertrand, 64, a former confidante of the former president Jacques Chirac, was sacked by President Nicolas Sarkozy when he dismantled the Renseignements Généraux (RG) police intelligence service. His 23 spiral-bound notebooks, which he compiled between 1998 and 2003, contain a mixture of facts and baseless rumour. Le Point said they were "stored vials to be distilled like poison at the right time". They suggest that the RG's notorious reputation as a tool for French presidents to keep tabs on and eliminate rivals - often using information gleaned from anonymous tip-offs - was fully deserved.
Described by Le Point, the magazine which published the papers, as a "voyage under the skirts of the Republic", the extracts of the handwritten diaries of Yves Bertrand delve deep into private lives of France's political elite.
Mr Bertrand, 64, a former confidante of the former president Jacques Chirac, was sacked by President Nicolas Sarkozy when he dismantled the Renseignements Généraux (RG) police intelligence service.
His 23 spiral-bound notebooks, which he compiled between 1998 and 2003, contain a mixture of facts and baseless rumour. Le Point said they were "stored vials to be distilled like poison at the right time".
They suggest that the RG's notorious reputation as a tool for French presidents to keep tabs on and eliminate rivals - often using information gleaned from anonymous tip-offs - was fully deserved.
President Sarkozy had an affair with the wife of one of his present Cabinet members about four years ago, when he was serving as Interior Minister, according to the former head of French police intelligence. The alleged episode was one of a multitude of damaging secrets reported yesterday from the private notebooks of Yves Bertrand, who was central director of the powerful Renseignements Généraux (RG) spy agency for 12 years until 2004. The police chief, whose shadowy service had long been a political tool for French rulers, also recorded in 2003: "Chirac has been for a facelift in Canada." The diaries, packed with potentially explosive accounts of drug-taking, illicit sex, blackmail and corruption among French leaders, were seized by judges recently as part of an investigation into dirty tricks. They were leaked to Le Point, a news magazine.
President Sarkozy had an affair with the wife of one of his present Cabinet members about four years ago, when he was serving as Interior Minister, according to the former head of French police intelligence.
The alleged episode was one of a multitude of damaging secrets reported yesterday from the private notebooks of Yves Bertrand, who was central director of the powerful Renseignements Généraux (RG) spy agency for 12 years until 2004.
The police chief, whose shadowy service had long been a political tool for French rulers, also recorded in 2003: "Chirac has been for a facelift in Canada."
The diaries, packed with potentially explosive accounts of drug-taking, illicit sex, blackmail and corruption among French leaders, were seized by judges recently as part of an investigation into dirty tricks. They were leaked to Le Point, a news magazine.
