A former UMP minister who was arrested after his wife accused him of domestic violence yesterday, has denied the charges on French radio. He admitted telling her that she dressed 'like a slut'.

Eric Raoult, former UMP minister of Paris suburb Raincy, was arrested Wednesday night after his wife, from whom he is currently divorcing, pressed charged against him of domestic violence.

But talking on radio station Europe 1 this morning, Raoult denied the charges.

“First of all, I don’t have the force - as you may already know I had a stroke a few months ago. And secondly, one does not turn into a violent man at the age of 57,” he said.

“The charges claim I slapped her, I shouted insults at her and on one occassion I knocked her over.

“Yes, I insulted her. But telling your wife 15 years your junior, ‘you dress like a slut’ is not domestic violence,” Raoult continued.

The wife, Corinne Raoult, also pressed similar charges against her husband back in June, which were in the process of being interrogated by local police.

“I don’t want to drag my husband’s reputation through the mud, he is still my husband. I’ve pressed charges, but I do not use my private life as a way of making money, as a story for the press,” she said to daily paper le Parisien.