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Former French President Jacques Chirac - Source: Reuters
Former French president Jacques Chirac has been ordered to stand
trial on embezzlement charges dating back to his time as mayor of
Paris, an unprecedented move against a former French head of
state.
Magistrate Xaviere Simeoni made the order over allegations that the
Paris City Hall awarded contracts for non-existent jobs as favours
to people who were politically useful to Chirac.
Chirac's office said on Friday that he and nine others had been
ordered to stand trial over 21 contracts.
"President Chirac ... is confident, and determined to establish
before a tribunal that none of the jobs that remain under
discussion were non-existent jobs," a statement said.
Chirac, 76, who was mayor from 1977 until 1995, when he was elected
president, is not certain to go on trial, as Paris public
prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin had previously said there was no case
against him.
Marin is likely to appeal the decision by Simeoni, whose role is
to investigate cases and decide whether suspects should face
trial.
If Marin contests Simeoni's instructions, an appeals court will
take the final decision in another year or so.
Chirac, a conservative, enjoyed constitutional immunity during his
12 years as president, only to be hit by a flurry of legal problems
after he stepped down in 2007.
No former French head of state has been prosecuted for corruption,
and a trial would be a public humiliation for a man who stood at
the heart of French politics for four decades.
Embarrassment
Chirac's legal woes have drawn mixed reactions from the French
political class. Both friends and foes seem torn between
embarrassment at old business being dredged up and a need to uphold
the principle that no one is above the law.
"These are old stories and, today, Jacques Chirac probably has lots
of things on his conscience but at the same time he has given a lot
to the country," said Segolene Royal, ex-candidate for president
from the Socialist Party, which opposes Chirac.
"He deserves to be left alone, but justice must be the same for
everyone ... Even if he deserves this, it's not good for France's
image," she said on Europe 1 radio.
In retirement, Chirac has gained in popularity and has devoted his
time to writing his memoirs and launching a charitable
foundation.
Although he has so far avoided direct involvement in any trial, a
number of his former allies and associates have been convicted on
corruption charges, leaving a bitter aftertaste of what were known
as the Chirac years.
His former deputy who succeeded him as mayor, Jean Tiberi, was
found guilty in May of electoral fraud dating back to the
1990s.
He received a 10-month suspended jail sentence and cannot run
for public office for three years.
The nine others charged in the same case as Chirac include two of
his former chiefs of staff, Michel Roussin and Remy Chardon, as
well as seven beneficiaries of the contracts for alleged
non-existent jobs.
They include Jean de Gaulle, grandson of wartime hero and President
Charles de Gaulle, as well as Marc Blondel, a former head of the
Force Ouvriere labour union, and Francois Debre, brother of the
head of France's constitutional court.
