Sarkozy junior wins scooter case

President Nicolas Sarkozy's son Jean has been found not guilty of fleeing the scene of a 2005 scooter crash.

Plaintiff M'hamed Bellouti, 37, was ordered to pay him €2,000 damages for taking "abusive" legal action.

Mr Bellouti said he was left "speechless" by the verdict, denouncing a two-speed justice, "one for the rich and another for the little guy."

"To sentence me for abuse of procedure when there was proof and a witness, well it's just surreal in a country like France," he said.

Mr Bellouti insisted he wrote down the registration number of the scooter and took legal action after Sarkozy failed to respond to approaches by his insurance company.

Jean Sarkozy, a law student this year made his debut as a politician in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where his father used to be mayor.

He was accused of ramming his scooter into the rear of a BMW car in Paris in October 2005 before speeding off.

The Paris criminal court found him not guilty on the basis of two expert reports into the damage to the plaintiff's vehicle, which concluded it could not have been caused by the scooter.

His lawyer Thierry Herzog said: “The courts did what they had to do. This was an empty case, in which we proved the offence was impossible."

Jean Sarkozy, who first appeared in court in December accused of fleeing the scene and reckless driving, repeatedly denied the charges.

On September 10 he married Jessica Sebaoun, daughter of the founder of Darty, a French company specialized in domestic electrical appliances.

Photo: Afp/Eric Feferberg