French politicians from left and right on Thursday demanded that Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand answer allegations that a memoir he wrote endorses sex tourism. Mitterrand’s 2005 book “The Bad Life” recounts how he paid for sex with “young boys” in Thailand and Indonesia, and caused no scandal after it was released, when the author was not yet a member of government.

This week, after Mitterrand courted controversy by defending fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski, political opponents headed back to the book and accused him of supporting the exploitation of young Asian sex workers. Mitterrand won the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s chief of staff, but politicians from right and left, including members of Sarkozy’s rightwing ruling party, have demanded he step down or at least explain himself.

The minister has so far refused to address the charges, dismissing them as having been inspired by a far-right smear campaign, but was to appear on France’s main evening newscast on Thursday night. When the book, described by its publisher as a “novel inspired by autobiography”, was released, Mitterrand confirmed he had paid for sex in Asian brothels, but rejected rumours of paedophilia. “It’s not true,” he said in an April 6, 2005 television interview.