French Finance Ministry denies budget minister to resign

PARIS Dec 14 (Reuters) - France's Budget Ministry on Friday denied a media report that Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac was to step down following allegations he had held a secret Swiss bank account.

French news website LyonMag said Cahuzac, who is leading a government crackdown on tax evasion, was to announce his resignation on Friday evening, and could be replaced by Pierre-Alain Muet, member of parliament for the Rhone district in southern France.

"We formally deny this information," sources close to the minister told Reuters.

Contacted by Reuters, a press spokeswoman for Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's office said Muet was not being considered for the post, and reiterated that Cahuzac was still budget minister.

Cahuzac has vigorously denied a report by the Mediapart news website which said he had held an account at Swiss bank UBS until the beginning of 2010.