Former French president to stand trial over alleged illegal campaign funding

French former president Nicolas Sarkozy attends a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP)

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial on Monday over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The so-called “Libyan case”, the biggest and possibly most shocking of several scandals involving Mr Sarkozy, is scheduled to run until April 10, with a verdict expected at a later date.