French prosecutors investigate government minister after rape accusations

PARIS (Reuters) - The Paris prosecution office said on Wednesday it had opened an investigation into France's minister for the disabled, Damien Abad, on suspicion of attempted rape, an accusation his lawyer said he denied.

Prosecutors took the procedural step after a woman filed a criminal complaint against the former conservative lawmaker who joined President Emmanuel Macron's centrist political camp following Macron's re-election earlier this year.

"Damien Abad acknowledges this logical consequence (of the complaint) and will soon be able to prove his innocence", Abad's lawyer said in a statement.

He had previously firmly denied all accusations linked to rape and other sexual misconduct made by several women against him through the press.

Opposition politicians have called on Abad in the past few weeks to resign.

The scandal has harmed Macron's government, which is likely to be overhauled in the coming days after Macron's centrist camp lost its majority in this month's parliamentary elections.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Chris Reese and Gareth Jones)