French Socialists say Sarkozy campaigns illegally

Francois Hollande, Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, gestures as he delivers a speech during the Futurapolis forum in Toulouse, southwest France February 11, 2012.

PARIS (Reuters) - France's opposition Socialists have complained to the French election watchdog that President Nicolas Sarkozy used taxpayer money to pay for official trips that were thinly veiled election campaign visits, a Socialist official said on Monday.

Sarkozy, who is expected to announce his reelection bid officially this week, has been accused by opponents of blurring the line between the roles of president and candidate by travelling around France to meet voters before the April-May election.

His frequent trips are advertised as presidential visits, but critics and political opponents argue that Sarkozy is using taxpayer money to drum up voter support.

"He does not obey the law in one respect: for weeks, and once again last week, he has been organizing political meetings with public money," said Manuel Valls, communications director for Socialist front-runner Francois Hollande.

Speaking on Europe 1 radio, Valls said Hollande's legal representative would appeal to the National Campaign Finance Commission "to say, 'That's enough with using the state's resources.'"

The Elysee presidential palace had no immediate comment.

Once they have declared, French presidential candidates must submit to strict limits on much they can speak on television and radio. Political parties must pay for all their campaigning costs.

Socialist politicians also grumbled last week when Sarkozy held a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at which Merkel backed Sarkozy's all-but-official bid.

"I support Sarkozy in every way just because we belong to allied parties, no matter what he does," said Merkel, noting she supported him not in her role as chancellor but as leader of Germany's Christian Democrat party.

A trip last week in which Sarkozy met workers at the Fessenheim nuclear plant in eastern France, which Hollande has pledged to close, was another example of veiled campaigning funded by taxpayers and not the conservative UMP party, critics said.

Sarkozy is expected to unveil his candidacy with a speech on Wednesday or Thursday, French media say, to be followed by a political rally in the southern city of Marseille on February 24.

Hollande, who declared his candidacy in October, holds a wide lead in opinion polls over the incumbent.

Referring to allegations that Sarkozy is campaigning illegally, Hollande told Canal+ television on Saturday: "He's already done plenty to use the state's resources to campaign up until now. If he wants to use them a bit more that's his business."

(Reporting By Sophie Louet and Nicholas Vinocur; Editing by Roger Atwood)