Nicolas Sarkozy: Allegations against Me are Grotesque, and the Judges Are Biased

Nicolas Sarkozy, centre, is brought in by police for questioning
on Tuesday by a judge investigating allegations of corruption.

THE GUARDIAN: Former French president defends himself after being put under formal investigation for alleged corruption case

To the French right it was political persecution and a plot to undermine Nicolas Sarkozy's eventual return to power. To the left it was the country's justice system doing its job and showing that no man – not even a powerful former president – is above the law.

But on Wednesday night it was Sarkozy's turn to speak after a day in which he was put under formal investigation for allegations of corruption, trafficking influence and receiving information violating professional secrecy.

The move came more than 15 hours after he was first summoned to a police station on the outskirts of Paris and told he was being held in custody – a first for a former president in modern France.

Three others, Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog and two magistrates, have also been put under investigation in the case. All deny any wrongdoing.

On Wednesday night, Sarkozy appeared on television for the first time since leaving the Elysée Palace in 2012 to claim the justice system was being used as a "political instrument" against him and to lash out at the magistrates and France's Socialist government.

"In our country, the country of human rights and the right of law, there are things that are being organised … everything is being done to give an image of me that is not the truth. To all those watching and listening, I want to say that I have never betrayed their confidence. I have never committed an act against republican principles or the law," he said.

Wearing a sombre suit and tie, the former president looked tanned and clean-shaven – recent photos showed him with fashionable stubble – and came out fighting, describing the accusations as "grotesque", and accusing the judges of being politically biased and determined to humiliate and destroy him. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Nicolas Sarkozy Charged with Corruption

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Former president of France formally charged in a move which could wreck hopes of political comeback

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said on Wednesday, a dramatic move in a criminal probe that could wreck his hopes of a political comeback.

The decision came after Mr Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.

The right-wing leader had been detained at a police station in a Paris suburb in connection with a suspected attempt to illegally influence judicial proceedings in one of a raft of colourful corruption cases he is implicated in.

Mr Sarkozy turned up at the station in Nanterre in a black saloon car with tinted windows at 8:00 am (0600 GMT).

After the lengthy questioning, the former president was taken in the early hours of Wednesday to appear before a judge, where he was charged with corruption and influence peddling, the prosecution said in a statement to AFP.

If convicted of those charges, he could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. » | AFP | Wednesday, July 02, 2014