Sarkozy sued over Villepin quote

FORMER prime minister Dominique de Villepin has launched legal proceedings against President Sarkozy accusing him of attempting to pervert the course of justice during the Clearstream trial.

Mr Villepin is on trial this week with four others accused of the forgery and the distribution of a list of people said to be taking kickbacks over arms sales - Mr Sarkozy's name was on the list.

More than 12 million people were watching as Mr Sarkozy said during a TV interview from New York: "After a two-year investigation, two independent investigating judges ruled that the guilty parties should be tried before a criminal court."

One of Mr Villepin's lawyers, Olivier Metzner, said: "Mr Sarkozy has declared in front of all France that Mr Villepin is guilty."

Human rights lawyer Henri Leclerc, who also represents Mr Villepin, said: "This is a scandalous violation of fundamental principles."

They are to lodge a criminal complaint against Mr Sarkozy - however, he is also France's Chief of Justice.

Opposition MPs immediately attacked Mr Sarkozy and leading UMP politician Gérard Longuet commented: "Each person is presumed innocent until they are finally convicted."

Prosecutors say Mr Villepin, a Cabinet colleague at the time, had hatched the forgery plot to disrupt Mr Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign.
Photo: Medef