French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Thursday that he will not resign over a simmering political scandal, or the so-called "Clearstream affair", in which officials were alleged to have taken commissions from the sale of frigates to Taiwan.

"In a democracy, it is right to be held accountable. That will at no time distract me from my mission," Villepin said at the tenth monthly news conference after he took office.

He also denied allegations that he ordered a secret probe into Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy who is also president of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement party.

He called for an establishment of the reality, saying he was " deeply hurt" by "slanders" and "lies".

The "Clearstream affair" took its root in old claims that a number of French politicians, business leaders and intelligence figures had accounts at the Luxembourg-based Clearstream bank and took commissions from the sale of frigates to Taiwan.

Two judges conducting an investigation into the origin of the allegations recently ordered a series of high-profile searches, including raids at the headquarters of the foreign intelligence agency DGSE and the offices of Defense Minister Michele Alliot- Marie.

The scandal has plunged the French government into disarray less than a month after the controversial First Employment Contract job law, sponsored by Villepin and aimed at boosting job creation, was revoked.

A recent poll showed a 20 percent approval rating for the prime minister, with 33 percent of those surveyed calling for his resignation.

Source: Xinhua