Chirac guilty of corruption but escapes jail

SHAMED former French leader Jacques Chirac has been found guilty of corruption and given a suspended jail sentence, becoming France’s first ex-president to be convicted for his crimes.

The 79-year-old statesman, who was excused from court on medical grounds, was found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust and embezzlement between 1990 and 1995, when he ran ghost workers as mayor of Paris.

He was convicted of hiring members of his political party for non-existent municipal jobs, using the civic payroll to employ his own campaign staff.