(Corrects name in paragraph 2 to ANTOINE Royal, not ANTONINE) WELLINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Monday it was unlikely to seek extradition of a French spy, the brother of the leading Socialist presidential candidate, suspected of involvement in bombing the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior. The French Le Parisien newspaper quoted Segolene Royal's brother, Antoine Royal, as saying that their brother Gerard, was one of the French secret agents who blew up the vessel in Auckland harbour in 1985, killing a photographer on board. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said police would reopen the files in the case but an extradition bid was unlikely because both governments had agreed to close the issue in 1991. "To pursue a matter like this from New Zealand through Interpol, you of course do need some co-operation at the other end," Clark told Television New Zealand. "I suspect the French government would be pointing to the 1991 decision, saying 'hang on a minute' this was put to rest a long time ago." French newspapers have previously reported that Gerard Royal was involved in the 1985 operation to counter protests against French nuclear tests in the Pacific, but only two French agents, Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur, have been convicted. In 1991, New Zealand dropped extradition proceedings against another French spy allegedly involved in the bombing, saying the issue had already been resolved by the two governments. Segolene Royal, who is leading the race to be the Socialist presidential candidate, has said she knows nothing of her brother's alleged involvement apart from what she had read in the press.
