Sarkozy to face corruption trial

NICOLAS Sarkozy is facing a criminal trial for running a corrupt campaign to become president of France.

Paris prosecutors have launched a formal investigation into alleged illegal financing, and recommended the former president appear as a defendant in court.

Mr Sarkozy has been charged with ‘financing an illegal campaign’, which could lead to a prison sentence. Bygmalion, a PR firm which handled his failed 2012 re-election campaign, is said to have used false accounting to conceal funding. It exceeded the £18.5million legal limit for funds, with Mr Sarkozy’s team spending the equivalent of at least £33 million.

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