Sarkozy sees corruption charges dropped

Nicolas Sarkozy’s hopes of a comeback to the frontline of French politics were given a major boost when corruption charges against the former president were dropped.

The decision removes the biggest obstacle to a career revival for the 58-year-old, although he remains embroiled in a string of separate scandals that could yet prevent his return to the fray.

The charismatic right-winger had been facing a lengthy trial process, a potential three-year prison term and a ban from public office after being formally charged in March as part of a wide-ranging probe into the financing of his successful 2007 election campaign.

But after six months of deliberations, the two judges in charge of the case have decided to send only 10 of the 12 accused in the case for trial and to drop proceedings against Sarkozy and one other suspect, tax lawyer Fabrice Goguel.

The specific charge against Sarkozy was that he took advantage of France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, by accepting cash from her when she was allegedly too frail to know what she was doing. Bettencourt, now 90, has suffered from dementia since 2006.

Among the six who will face trial is Eric Woerth, a former minister who was Sarkozy’s campaign treasurer and who stands accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash from Bettencourt’s right-hand man, Patrice de Maistre.

The decision to drop the charges against Sarkozy is in line with a recommendation from the public prosecutor, who had advised the judges convictions were unlikely to be secured against six of the 12 accused, including the former president.

That advice was initially ignored by the two judges, prompting claims of political bias, and it had been widely assumed that Sarkozy would be sent for trial following the failure last week of an attempt by his lawyers to have the charges dismissed on procedural grounds.

Yesterday it emerged, however, that the Bordeaux prosecutors had warned the judges that they would appeal against any decision to send Sarkozy for trial, raising the prospect of a further delay in concluding a probe that began while Sarkozy was still in office.

Sarkozy stepped back from politics after losing last year’s presidential vote to Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, concentrating instead on making money on the international conference circuit and spending time with his former supermodel wife, Carla Bruni, and their young daughter.

But he has repeatedly hinted at a comeback in time for the 2017 election, most notably saying earlier this year that he may be obliged to return to “save” France from a Socialist-created economic disaster.

Polls suggest he would be welcomed back by supporters of his UMP party, the main opposition, if not necessarily by the rest of the electorate.

The decision to drop the campaign finance charges does not mean Sarkozy is clear of legal problems which could yet wreck his comeback hopes.

He is separately being investigated over claims he accepted up to €50m in cash from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for the 2007 campaign.

Sarkozy has been implicated in a number of other scandals, the most serious of which centres on an allegation that he helped organise kickbacks from a Pakistani arms deal to finance the 1995 presidential campaign of Edouard Balladour.