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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Charges Loom for Former French PM

De Villepin linked to dirty campaign against rival Sarkozy

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(Newser) – Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is expected to face criminal conspiracy charges following the discovery of new evidence linking him to a dirty tricks campaign against President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Times of London reports. Police yesterday searched his Paris home after investigators found computer data suggesting he directed a plot to implicate Sarkozy in a 2004 bribery scandal.

De Villepin has insisted he had nothing to do with forged bank documents that falsely suggested Sarkozy, then finance minister, received kickbacks in a sale of French warships in what's been dubbed the Clearstream affair. De Villepin, who lost his post when Sarkozy won the presidency, is writing a biography of Napoleon that reportedly is a veiled attack on Sarkozy.

France's outgoing President Jacques Chirac, right, speaks with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin prior to a lunch at the Elysee Palace, following Chirac's final weekly cabinet meeting, in Paris, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Chirac is to turn over power to Sarkozy on May 16 after 12 years in office. (AP...
France's outgoing President Jacques Chirac, right, speaks with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin prior to a lunch at the Elysee Palace, following Chirac's final weekly cabinet meeting, in Paris, Wednesday,...   (Associated Press)
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin answers reporters questions after his last weekly cabinet meeting as President Jacques Chirac was holding his final Cabinet meeting in Paris, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Outgoing President Chirac is to turn over power to President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy on May 16 after 12 years in...
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin answers reporters questions after his last weekly cabinet meeting as President Jacques Chirac was holding his final Cabinet meeting in Paris, Wednesday, May...   (Associated Press)
French president Jacques Chirac (L) shakes hands with Prime minister...
French president Jacques Chirac (L) shakes hands with Prime minister...   (Getty Images)
French Prime minister Dominique de Villepin (R) makes a sign...
French Prime minister Dominique de Villepin (R) makes a sign...   (Getty Images (by Event))
French President Nicolas Sarkozy gives a thumbs up to reporters after his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, July 4, 2007. Sarkozy and his government were holding a flurry of meetings Wednesday on the Middle East, hosting Abdullah and Israeli Foreign Minister...
French President Nicolas Sarkozy gives a thumbs up to reporters after his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, July 4, 2007. Sarkozy and his government were...   (Associated Press)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy smiles as he delivers his speech during the opening of the new tramway, in Marseille, southern France, Tuesday, July 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy smiles as he delivers his speech during the opening of the new tramway, in Marseille, southern France, Tuesday, July 3, 2007. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)   (Associated Press)
Outgoing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin delivers a speech as his wife Marie-Laure looks on during a handover ceremony with newly named prime minister Francois Fillon, unseen, in Paris, Thursday, May 17, 2007. Francois Fillon started his first day on the job Thursday with a promise to implement President Nicolas...
Outgoing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin delivers a speech as his wife Marie-Laure looks on during a handover ceremony with newly named prime minister Francois Fillon, unseen, in Paris, Thursday,...   (Associated Press)
Outgoing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin waves as he leaves the Hotel Matignon during a handover ceremony with newly named prime minister Francois Fillon, unseen, in Paris, Thursday, May 17, 2007. Francois Fillon started his first day on the job Thursday with a promise to implement President Nicolas Sarkozy's sweeping...
Outgoing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin waves as he leaves the Hotel Matignon during a handover ceremony with newly named prime minister Francois Fillon, unseen, in Paris, Thursday, May 17, 2007....   (Associated Press)
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