Sarkozy's son faces court over accident

Jean Sarkozy, son of France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, walks across the courtyard at the Elysee Palace in Paris October 25, 2007.

PARIS (Reuters) - The son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a court on Tuesday he had nothing to reproach himself with after a car driver accused him of fleeing the scene of an accident involving his scooter.

Jean Sarkozy is accused of damaging a car with his scooter in October 2005 on the Place de la Concorde square in central Paris.

"I have nothing to reproach myself with," Sarkozy, who was born in 1987, told a courtroom packed with journalists.

The plaintiff M'Hamed Bellouti, who has called himself a supporter of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, is seeking some 260 euros (187 pounds) for repairs to his car and 4,000 euros in damages.

Bellouti has said police did not follow up on the accident and that three letters addressed to Jean Sarkozy by his insurance company were unanswered.

The court ordered a report to assess whether the car damage could have been caused by a scooter, saying the case would be examined in June.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who was interior minister at the time of his son's accident, sparked media attention earlier this year due to an incident involving his son's scooter.

He was accused of abusing his position as interior minister when police used sophisticated DNA testing to track down thieves who had stolen the scooter.

Opponents said the incident showed how the government elite received red carpet treatment in France. Sarkozy denounced the attacks, and police said at the time that DNA tests had become an increasingly common crime-fighting tool.

(Reporting by Thierry Leveque; Writing by Kerstin Gehmlich; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)