France's Sarkozy Abuses Power, Critics Allege

PARIS — When thieves made off with a scooter belonging to a son of French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy, police got cracking: With help from fingerprints and DNA tests, they caught three suspects within two weeks.

That police were so efficient in a country where more than 85,000 motorcycles and scooters were stolen last year has revived complaints that Mr. Sarkozy is using his position as France's top cop to unfair personal advantage. Critics also say the lines between his roles as candidate and interior minister are too blurred.

Police say there's nothing unusual about the scooter case and that they conduct thousands of DNA and fingerprint tests every year. But that didn't stop Mr. Sarkozy's rivals from asking questions.

"This is a double-standard," centrist candidate Francois Bayrou said yesterday on RTL radio. "This kind of small affair demonstrates how with the courts — or the police at least — the justice system isn't exactly the same for the poor and the powerful."

As interior minister, Mr. Sarkozy has access to police intelligence, reports by regional administrators, and vast amounts of information about daily goings-on in France.