Paris: Despite the fact that his position at the head of a Government in deep crisis is becoming increasingly untenable, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin remained in a defiant mood on Thursday, denying any wrong doing and telling journalists he would not step down.

Mr. de Villepin is accused of having ordered an investigation into the financial dealings of his arch rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy who was implicated in a series of fabricated charges against top French political, industrial and military personalities. Mr. de Villepin reportedly ordered the enquiry despite knowing that the accusations were false and failed to inform Mr. Sarkozy of the attempted slander. The Prime Minister has repeatedly denied he ordered such an enquiry.

But French daily Le Monde published the full text of the sworn testimony of former military intelligence chief General Philippe Rondot, who told magistrates that Mr. de Villepin had indeed asked him to investigate the Interior Minister in what has come to be known as the Clearstream Affair.

Scathing criticism

The French press on Thursday was unanimously scathing in its criticism of the Prime Minister who was accused of lying to Parliament and to the people. The right-wing newspaper Le Figaro which usually supports the Government asked: "Why did he repeatedly lie about the mention of his rival's name in connection with these murky dealings?" Whereas left wing daily Liberation bluntly called the Prime Minister "a liar." The Opposition and several members of his own UMP party are now openly calling for the Prime Minister's resignation.

In an attempt to turn the tables on his questioners, Mr. de Villepin said journalists should abide by the ethics of their profession, claiming he had been "deeply hurt" by what he described as "sheer calumny."

Refuting the intelligence official's leaked sworn account, he said again that Mr. Sarkozy's name was not mentioned at their meeting in connection with secret accounts and that President Chirac "at no point needed to give me instructions."

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