Angry demonstrators are demanding the resignation of France's minister of culture, after he wrote about sexual experiences with prostitutes in Thailand.
"I condemn sexual tourism, which is a disgrace. I condemn pedophilia, which I have never in any way participated in," Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said during a broadcast interview last Thursday. "All those who accuse me of this kind of thing should be ashamed."
While he acknowledged having sex with prostitutes, he said they were around his own age.
The controversy stems from a book Mitterrand wrote in 2005 called "La mauvaise vie" ("The Bad Life"), which is loosely described as an autobiography.
In one section, Mitterrand writes about visiting Thailand and paying for sex with "boys" -- however, the term is ambiguous and could refer to gay men, rather than minors.
The controversial passages resurfaced when Mitterrand defended Roman Polanski, the film director who is facing extradition to the United States in regards to his 1977 guilty plea to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Polanski, a French citizen, is now behind bars in Switzerland.
Marine Le Pen, vice president of France's National Front party, used Mitterrand's book to attack his defence of Polanski, and read excerpts on television.
After Mitterrand denied ever having sex with minors, Le Pen called him a "liar."
President Nicolas Sarkozy has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but Mitterrand told reporters Sarkozy met with him and "confirmed his confidence" in the minister.
With files from The Associated Press
