A long-awaited French corruption trial has opened with former President Jacques Chirac as the star defendant.

JEROME Kerviel has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to repay Societe Generale’s €4.9 billion trading loss by a judge who said the former trader’s actions threatened the bank’s existence.

The city of Paris pulled out of a corruption case against former French president Jacques Chirac today after he agreed to pay €2.2m lost to municipal funds because of a financing scandal while he was mayor.

Jerome Kerviel, the French trader accused of gambling away billions of his bank’s money, was due to face trial today.

Rogue trader Jerome Kerviel whose unauthorised deals lost billions for his French bank was released from custody on bail today.

Accused French rogue trader Jerome Kerviel told police his Societe Generale bosses must have been aware of his massive risk-taking on markets but turned a blind eye as long as he earned money, a judicial official said tonight.

FORMER French president Jacques Chirac was placed under judicial investigation yesterday as part of a probe into the improper use of city funds when he was mayor of Paris, said his lawyer.

Former French President Jacques Chirac was charged with embezzling public money today.

Former French president Jacques Chirac is to be questioned in the coming months over a corruption scandal involving fake jobs and linked to the former conservative political party he headed, his lawyer said today.