Sarkozy team gets death threats

It is not clear why these top UMP politicians were threatened

President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight other top French politicians have received death threats in letters stuffed with bullets, officials say.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating the mysterious, identical 20-line typed letters, which were full of spelling mistakes and abusive language.

Senior members of Mr Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party were targeted, along with three cabinet ministers.

Justice Minister Rachida Dati and former PM Alain Juppe were among them.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Culture Minister Christine Albanel also received such letters.

They contained 9mm or .38-calibre bullets, officials said.

The origin of the letters is not clear, nor is the motive known.

The Associated Press reports that the letter speaks of a mysterious "Cell 34", mentions 1,000 combatants, and describes the recipients as the legislators of "liberty-crushing" and "fascist" laws.

The letter concludes with the statement: "This letter is the last. There will be a black out. Total silence."