DOMINIQUE de Villepin could receive an 18-month suspended sentence and a €45,000 fine for his alleged role in a smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy.

The former French prime minister is accused of attempting to harm rival Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election bid by helping to leak a damaging story about him which turned out to be fake.

Paris public prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin ruled Villepin had been an “accomplice” in the affair. He also recommended jail sentences for three other defendants linked to the plot, although the final verdict is not expected until January.

The case, dubbed the political trial of the decade, centres on a fake list of account-holders from the Clearstream financial clearing house who were alleged to have received bribes on the sale of French warships to Taiwan. Sarkozy’s name was on the list.

Speaking outside court, Villepin said: “Nicolas Sarkozy had promised to hang me up with a butcher’s hook. I see he has kept his promise.”

The former PM has strongly denied any responsibility and has argued that he is the victim of an abuse of power, as Nicolas Sarkozy is one of the 39 claimants and also the man responsible for the French justice system.

David Mendiboure - Service photo de Matignon