This will be the first trial in several corruption investigations against Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012. Last June, appeals judges rejected a challenge filed by Sarkozy, Herzog and Azibert against the case for corruption and influence peddling. Since losing to the Socialist Party's Francois Hollande and leaving office, Sarkozy has fought a barrage of corruption and campaign financing allegations, all of which he rejects. In its indictment for the corruption case, the prosecution service compared Sarkozy's actions to those of a "seasoned offender" and criticised his lawyers' tactics which it said "paralysed" the investigation. Fillon crashed out of the running for the presidency in 2017 after being charged with using public funds to pay his wife for a fake job as his assistant.

Source: The Local January 08, 2020 22:18 UTC