French UMP chief to resign amid party funding probe - source

PARIS (Reuters) - Jean-Francois Cope will resign on June 15 as head of France's main opposition UMP party after allegations of irregularities in the finances of the conservative party, a UMP source said on Tuesday after a crisis meeting of party bosses. The move effectively launches the race to secure the UMP ticket to stand in the 2017 presidential election, with ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, and former prime ministers Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe all seen waiting in the wings. The party's finances have been the subject of a preliminary legal inquiry after allegations that an events company hired for Sarkozy's 2012 re-election bid was ordered by party officials to produce millions of euros' worth of fake invoices to cover campaign cost over-runs. Cope, who was party general secretary at the time, has repeatedly stated he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. (Reporting by Sophie Louet; writing by Mark John; editing by Ingrid Melander)