18 November 2008 - 22H05
French ex-PM to appear in court over alleged smear campaign
Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has been ordered to appear before a court in connection with an alleged smear campaign that targeted President Nicolas Sarkozy, sources close to the case said Tuesday.
Please click here to see a FRANCE 24 interview with Dominique de Villepin
Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin has been ordered to appear before a French court, where he will be questioned over his involvement in the alleged smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy, known as the Clearstream scandal.
The specific charge he faces is "complicity in a slanderous denunciation." He is thought to have been involved in a scheme to destabilise Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign. Villepin is suspected of having falsely accused his rival of holding secret accounts in Clearstream Banking, the clearing division of Deutsche Börse Clearing that has been allegedly involved in money laundering. These allegations came to light in April 2006.
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