In the clear

Dominique de Villepin, the former French prime minister, was acquitted by an appeals court on Wednesday of trying to discredit rival Nicolas Sarkozy in the run-up to his 2007 election.

The dropping of charges leaves Villepin free to run in the 2012 election, where Sarkozy is expected to seek a second term.

"I've come out of this test even stronger than before, and even more determined to serve my fellow Frenchmen," Villepin told reporters outside the court following the verdict.

"I'd like to believe that this decision will help to make our old country less vulnerable to rumor and slander," he added.

The Clearstream scandal

The case has come to be known as the Clearstream affair, for its links to the Luxembourg-based securities clearing house.

A forged document, carrying a list of account holders at Clearstream who were alleged to have taken bribes from the sale of French warships to Taiwan, was published in the run-up to the 2007 election, in which Villepin and Sarkozy were both attempting to succeed Jacques Chirac. Sarkozy's name was on that list.

Villepin, prime minister from 2005 to 2007 under Chirac, was accused of doing nothing to stop the rumor mill even though he knew the list was fake.

He was cleared in the first round of the Clearstream trial but ended up back in court when prosecutors decided to appeal.

Villepin quit Sarkozy's conservative UMP party and published his own center-right manifesto in 2010. He claims the trial against him was politically motivated and on Wednesday praised the "independence of our judiciary which has held out against political pressure."

"How I would like this to be a lesson for the 2012 presidential election," he added.

New allegations emerge

Meanwhile, Villepin and former president Chirac were accused over the weekend of having received $20 million (14.6 million euros) from African leaders.

Lawyer Robert Bourgi, a former aide to Chirac, claimed that between 1995 and 2005 he acted as a go-between for West African and French leaders. He alleged that he handed over suitcases of cash, including $10 million from the leaders of Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gabon and Republic of Congo, for Chirac's 2002 presidential campaign.

Lawyers for both Chirac and Villepin have denied the allegations, which are being investigated.

Villepin again claims the allegations are a political smear attack, aimed at derailing his presidential bid. It is thought that Villepin could split the vote on the right and upset Sarkozy's chances at making it through to the second round.

Chirac's attorney Jean Veil said the former leader will press defamation charges against Bourgi, calling the timing of the claims "at the very least suspicious, if not scandalous."

Author: Catherine Bolsover (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler