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."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7922893.stm