41.   Kosa Kovacs is the third Socialist minister to quit since Finance Minister Lajos Bokros, who has no party affiliation, took office in January.

42.   Policies conducted under previous Socialist ministers in Paris have included a campaign to impose tough restrictions on imports of Japanese cars and US-made television programmes and films.

43.   Several former government officials have been indicted in the affair, including former socialist interior minister Jose Barrionuevo.

44.   Several leading leftwingers, including former maverick socialist minister and businessman Bernard Tapie, are still under investigation.

45.   Tapie, a former socialist minister, was sentenced to a two year, with one year suspended, jail sentence.

46.   Tapie, a former French socialist minister, is to be heard by the parliamentary rules committee on Monday, which will issue a statement afterwards.

47.   The case is not helping socialist presidential candidate Lionel Jospin as Tapie and another former socialist minister, Jacques Mellick, have admitted to lying in the case.

48.   The four-year investigation into the affair has already forced four Socialist ministers to resign, including former foreign minister Frank Vandenbroucke.