PARIS (Reuters) -The French government plans to file a criminal complaint against home care group Orpea over allegations of mistreatment of elderly patients, government minister Brigitte Bourguignon told radio channel France Info Saturday.

       The government is also considering seeking to recover public financial aid provided to the company, she added.

       "Not only will we file a complaint, but we reserve the right to request the return of public funds that weren't used for residents as they were supposed to be," she added.

       Contacted on Saturday, Orpea said it will issue a statement soon in response to the government's plan.

       A book by independent journalist Victor Castanet in January made public claims of severe failings in hygiene care in an Orpea home for elderly people in a wealthy Paris suburb. The French group has repeatedly denied systemic shortcomings.

       (Reporting by Mimosa Spencer;Editing by Alexander Smith and Barbara Lewis)