France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial Monday, November 23, on charges of corruption, becoming the first French ex-head of state to stand as an accused in the dock and risking a humiliating end to a career tainted by legal woes.
The bribery inquiry also saw Sarkozy become the first ex-president taken into police custody for questioning after it was launched six years ago."I am not a crook," the 65-year-old, whose combative style made him one of France's most popular politicians, told BFM TV this month. That inquiry is still going on, though Sarkozy caught a break this month when his main accuser retracted a central claim of having delivered millions of euros in cash from Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Herzog faces the same charges and a further allegation of violating professional secrecy. The trial is expected to last until December 10. In exchange, Sarkozy would use his contacts to try to secure the cushy Monaco post for Azibert, who is also on trial. "All this is nothing more than sentence fragments taken out of context," Herzog's lawyer Paul-Albert Iweins told France Info radio on Monday, calling them"conversations between very old friends."Sarkozy, a lawyer by training, says the judiciary have been waging a vendetta because he attempted to limit judges' powers and accused many of being too soft on delinquents.