French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said Thursday he will not resign over accounts in a book he wrote in 2005 about paying to have sex with “boys” in Thailand.

In an interview with French television network TF1, Mitterrand said he “absolutely condemn[s] sexual tourism, which is a disgrace, and … pedophilia,” in which he insisted he has never participated.

Despite the use of the French word “garcon” in his 2005 book “The Bad Life,” Mitterrand, 62, has previously said the term did not mean “little boys.” He said the males he paid for sex were his age, or maybe five years younger, but not underage — and the relations were consensual.

“Anyway, you can recognize someone who’s 40 years old …” he told TF1. A 40-year-old man “doesn’t look like a minor,” he added, suggesting that his partners were middle-aged men.

His actions, Mitterrand said, were “without a doubt, an error,” but “a crime, no,” he said in the interview.

Despite recent calls to resign from the far-right National Front and the left-leaning Socialist Party, Mitterrand, who is openly gay, vowed to stay in his job. He said he met Thursday morning with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and that the president supports him.

Source/Full Story: CNN.com
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