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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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France Opens Probe Against Former PM

De Villepin will be grilled over Sarkozy smear campaign

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(Newser) – Dominique de Villepin, France's former PM and a longtime rival of president Nicolas Sarkozy, will undergo a formal investigation for his alleged role in improperly smearing Sarkozy. De Villepin denies involvement in the scandal which may also implicate former president Jacques Chirac, but the announcement is seen as a step towards criminal charges.

New evidence suggests de Villepin encouraged leaking Sarkozy's name onto what is now known to be a false list of people who accepted bribes related to the sale of French arms to Taiwan.Charges against de Villepin could include breach of trust, forgery, and perjury.

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)
Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin addresses the media after he appeared before judges at a Paris courthouse, Friday, July 27, 2007. Investigating judges filed preliminary charges Friday against former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin for his suspected role in a smear campaign that targeted Nicolas Sarkozy before he...
Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin addresses the media after he appeared before judges at a Paris courthouse, Friday, July 27, 2007. Investigating judges filed preliminary charges Friday against...   (Associated Press)
Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin faces the media after he appeared before judges at a Paris courthouse, Friday, July 27, 2007. Investigating judges filed preliminary charges Friday against former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin for his suspected role in a smear campaign that targeted Nicolas Sarkozy before he...
Former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin faces the media after he appeared before judges at a Paris courthouse, Friday, July 27, 2007. Investigating judges filed preliminary charges Friday against...   (Associated Press)
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 President Nicolas Sarkozy addresses reporters during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Sarkozy said Tuesday that neither the European Union nor France paid money to Libya for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to life in Libya...
French President Nicolas Sarkozy addresses reporters during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Sarkozy said Tuesday that neither the European Union nor France paid...   (Associated Press)
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy walks past the Wall of Names during his visit to the Shoah Memorial, or Holocaust Memorial in Paris, Friday, July 20, 2007. The names of the 76,000 Jews, including 11,000 children all deported from France as part of the Nazi plan to annihilate the...
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy walks past the Wall of Names during his visit to the Shoah Memorial, or Holocaust Memorial in Paris, Friday, July 20, 2007. The names of the 76,000 Jews, including 11,000...   (Associated Press)
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