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France’s Chirac goes on trial for corruption

07 March 2011 15:44 (UTC +04:00)

Chirac, 78, is one of France’s most popular political figures despite becoming the first former president of the French Republic to go on trial, accused of using public money to pay people working for his party while he was mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995. He enjoyed immunity from prosecution as president from 1995 to 2007, but the case, which has already seen current Foreign Minister Alain Juppe convicted, has finally caught up with the avuncular former head of state. The case could promptly grind to a halt, however, if a lawyer working for one of Chirac’s co-defendants succeeds in getting a procedural matter referred upwards to France’s constitutional court. Chirac, best known internationally for his opposition to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, has denied any knowledge of corrupt payments and his lawyers accuse magistrates of harboring a hidden political agenda. He has been linked to series corruption scandals but has never been convicted. If convicted, Chirac faces up to 10 years in jail and a fine of 150,000 euros (S$265,570) on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust. -- AFP