L'Oreal heiress submits to psych testing

PARIS, May 8 (UPI) -- The wealthy heiress of French cosmetics giant L'Oreal has submitted to psychiatric tests as part of a legal battle, a French newspaper said.

Le Figaro says Liliane Bettencourt, 86, one of the world's richest women, dropped her objections to a demand by her daughter that she undergo tests to prove she has not lost her mind, The Guardian reported Friday.

Bettencourt's daughter Francoise is suing to stop her mother from giving gifts to fashion photographer François-Marie Banier, 61, who has reportedly received items worth up to $1.3 billion from the L'Oreal owner, a philanthropist who is the holder of one of the world's biggest private art collections.

Le Figaro reported Bettencourt chose an independent psychiatrist to assess her mental health, and that the doctor testified to prosecutors that she was in a "perfect" state of mind.

But French officials have upped the ante by demanding an additional report carried out by a panel of experts, including one of the prosecutors' own choosing, The Guardian said.