Trial of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy over corruption opens in Paris


Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial Monday for attempted bribery of a judge in what could turn into a humiliating postscript to a political career tainted by a litany of legal woes.

Though he is not the first modern French head of state in the dock -- his predecessor and political mentor Jacques Chirac was convicted of embezzlement -- Sarkozy is the first to face corruption charges.

He fought furiously for six years to have the case thrown out, denouncing "a scandal that will go down in history".

"I am not a crook," the 65-year-old, whose combative style made him one of France's most popular politicians, told BFM TV this month.

Prosecutors say Sarkozy promised the judge a plush job in Monaco in exchange for inside information on an inquiry into claims that Sarkozy accepted illicit payments from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

Their case rests in large part on wiretaps of phone conversations between Sarkozy and his longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog, which judges authorised as prosecutors also looked into suspected Libyan financing of Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.

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