Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly breaking campaign financing rules in his failed bid for reelection in 2012, a judicial official said. </s> France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy is to face trial in an inquiry into alleged campaign finance fraud during his 2012 presidential campaign, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Mr Sarkozy and 13 others will go to court to answer allegations that his failed presidential campaign spent well above the legal ceiling, the office said.

Mr Sarkozy's camp said it will appeal against the decision.

The news may further erode public trust in politics as Mr Sarkozy's former number two, Francois Fillon, their party's candidate in this year's presidential election, fights for his political life over an investigation into whether well-paid political jobs he gave his wife, son and daughter were fake. </s> Nicolas Sarkozy is to stand trial over allegations he illegally financed his failed 2012 presidential bid, according to reports.

The former French president is accused of exceeding the €22.5m (£19.4m) spending limit by using false accounting from public relations firm Bygmalion. Illegal party funding carries a maximum prison sentence of a year and a €3,750 (£3,232) fine.

A judicial source told Reuters that 13 others will also face charges in relation to the case, which also involves accusations of excessive spending and funding irregularities.

Another source told AFP that judges decided last week to proceed with the trial after the failure of a bid by Sarkozy's legal team to have it thrown out.

Bygmalion allegedly charged €18.5m (£15.9m) to Sarkozy's UMP party, which has since been renamed the Republicains, instead of billing Mr Sarkozy's campaign.

Company executives have admitted fraud and false accounting, and the trial will focus on whether Sarkozy, who was at the time the incumbent fighting for re-election, was aware of what was going on. Sarkozy has previously claimed aware he was unaware of the irregular financing.

Sarkozy failed in a fresh presidential bid late last year, with rival Francois Fillon chosen as candidate for the centre right Republicains.

Fillon is currently embroiled in his own scandal, after it emerged that he had employed family members in lucrative fake jobs with public funds.

Sarkozy is the second French president to be put on trial since 1958, when the current French republic was established.

Former leader Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public trust. </s> Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will reportedly face trial for exceeding election expenses during his failed 2012 campaign.

A judicial source told Reuters that 13 others would also face trial over the so-called "Bygmalion Affair", which has involved charges of spending overruns and funding irregularities.

Mr Sarkozy was previously placed under investigation in a probe into his campaign funding.

His 2012 re-election campaign costs were more than twice the legal limit.

Mr Sarkozy has repeatedly denied knowledge of the overspending because he was not involved in the details of his campaign finance.

It is alleged he exceeded the spending limit of 22.5m euros (£19m) through false invoices issued by the Bygmalion PR company.

The decision to put Mr Sarkozy on trial comes as French politicians face growing scrutiny over their personal finances in the build-up to this year's presidential election in April and May. </s> Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to face trial for the alleged irregular financing of his 2012 presidential campaign, the media reported on Tuesday.

 

 Sarkozy is to appear in court along with 13 others, said the "France Info" broadcaster, citing court sources.

 

 The case was originally opened in 2014 when a media investigation found that Sarkozy had surpassed the 22.5 million euro ($24 million) spending cap on his presidential campaign for an election he lost to Socialist Party candidate Francois Hollande, the incumbent President.

 

 Prosecutors accused Sarkozy and members of his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party of having conspired with communications company Bygmalion to cover up the overspend with false invoices, Efe news reported.

 

 The allegations against Sarkozy suggested that the former head of state breached the campaign spending limit by some $15 million.

 

 Rather than invoicing the presidential campaign, the Bygmalion firm allegedly charged those extra expenses to Sarkozy's centre-right UMP, since re-branded as the Republicans, thus bypassing French electoral law.

 

 In France, the case is popularly referred to as the Bygmalion affair.

 

 Sarkozy was fined by the Constitutional Court for his role in the Bygmalion affair and he has since paid back the entire sum of the overspend after a successful donation campaign led by party members and supporters.

 

 The case was widely blamed for his poor showing in the 2016 centre-right presidential primaries when his comeback attempt was thwarted by two former Prime Ministers, Francois Fillon and Alain Juppé.

 

 Sarkozy's 2012 campaign manager Jérôme Lavrilleux and the head of Bygmalion, who has confessed to the accusations, are also due to stand trial. 

 

 Sarkozy's lawyers may yet appeal the order. The centre-right politician would become the second former head of state to stand trial after tenure.

 

 Jacques Chirac was handed a suspended prison sentence by a Paris court in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public confidence. </s> Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was ordered Tuesday to stand trial in an inquiry into alleged campaign finance fraud during his failed 2012 re-election bid, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Sarkozy and 13 other "protagonists" will go to court on the order of a magistrate to answer allegations that his presidential campaign spent well above the legal ceiling of 22.5 million euros ($24 million) and tried to cover it up fraudulently, the office said.

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The claims center on whether the 61-year-old politician was aware of alleged false billing and fraud linked to PR company Bygmalion, where some executives have acknowledged false accounting.

Sarkozy denies any wrongdoing and his camp says it will appeal the decision.

The news may further erode public trust in politics as Sarkozy's former no. 2, Francois Fillon, their party's candidate in this spring's presidential election, fights for his political life over an investigation into whether well-paid political jobs he gave his wife, son and daughter were fake.

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Conservative lawmakers have been summoned Tuesday for a meeting at Fillon's headquarters to form a united front around the ex-prime minister ahead of the April-May elections.

In 2011, former President Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended jail sentence in a scandal over phony jobs. </s> Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to stand criminal trial for running a corrupt election campaign, it was announced today.

The 62-year-old will face a jail term if found guilty of a range of crimes including fraud, false accounting and breach of trust.

Judge Serge Tournaire’s decision to refer Mr Sarkozy to trial comes as his political party, the Republicans, is immersed in sleaze allegations.

Would-be president Francois Fillon — once Mr Sarkozy’s prime minister — is mired in a fake jobs scandal involving his British wife Penelope.

Sarkozy’s indictment for “financing an illegal campaign” relates to the so-called Bygmalion Affair, said a judicial source close to Judge Tournaire.

Bygmalion was the PR firm which handled the notoriously self-promoting Sarkozy’s appearances during his failed 2012 re-election campaign.

It is said to have used a vast system of false accounting to conceal an alleged explosion of illegal funding for his campaign.

It exceeded the legal limit for funds of £18.5 million, with Sarkozy’s team spending the equivalent of at least £33 million.

Sarkozy’s lawyer Thierry Herzog said last year that “there was nothing linking President Nicolas Sarkozy to the Bygmalion case.”

However, the investigation kept Sarkozy, who is still allowed to use his “president” title after serving a single term of office in the role between 2007 and 2012, tied up in legal proceedings. The Paris home Sarkozy shares with his third wife, the model and pop singer Carla Bruni, was raided by fraud squad officers within a week of him standing down four years ago.

This was because French presidents are immune from prosecution while in office, and they can only be charged once they leave office.

Sarkozy is under investigation in a range of other scandals too, including claims that he received £42 million from the late Colonel Gaddafi.

Sarkozy failed in the Republican Party presidential primaries last year, which were won by Fillon.

The last French president to be tried as a criminal was Mr Sarkozy’s former mentor, Jacques Chirac.

In 2011, the former president was found guilty of diverting public funds and abusing public confidence, and recieved a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Despite the corruption claims swirling around him and his family, Fillon has pledged to carry on his campaign to become president. It is thought this could assist fringe parties, including the far-right National Front, who hope that their candidate, Marine Le Pen, can become president in May. </s> Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was being held in police custody on Tuesday for questioning by magistrates looking into allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign, an official in the French judiciary said.A lawyer for Sarkozy could not be reached immediately for comment.France opened a judicial inquiry in 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election bid benefited from illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.A former minister and close ally of Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source close to the probe said.Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”.GaddafiIn January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funnelling money from Gaddafi to finance Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and granted bail after he appeared in a London court.Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois Hollande. </s> Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was being held in police custody on Tuesday for questioning by magistrates looking into allegations of Libyan funding for his 2007 election campaign, an official in the French judiciary said.

A lawyer for Mr Sarkozy could not be reached immediately for comment.

France opened a judicial inquiry in 2013 into allegations that Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election bid benefited from illicit funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy.

A former minister and close ally of Mr Sarkozy, Brice Hortefeux, was also being questioned by police on Tuesday morning in relation to the Libya investigation, another source close to the investigation said.

Mr Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has always denied receiving any illicit campaign funding and has dismissed the Libyan allegations as “grotesque”.

In January a French businessman suspected by investigators of funnelling money from Gadafy to finance Mr Sarkozy’s campaign was arrested in Britain and granted bail after he appeared in a London court.

Mr Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial in a separate matter concerning financing of his failed re-election campaign in 2012, when he was defeated by Francois Hollande. – Reuters
Former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy is ordered to stand trial for alleged campaign finance fraud during his failed 2012 presidential election campaign.