Lawyers for former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, currently on trial over a smear scandal, filed legal action on Monday against President Nicolas Sarkozy for describing Villepin as "guilty"in an interview. Villepin is charged with trying to undermine Sarkozy's campaign to win the presidency in 2007 by implicating him in a corruption scandal using a forged set of documents from Luxembourg-based financial institution Clearstream.
He denies any wrongdoing and accuses Sarkozy of a relentless fixation with the case, saying the president's own involvement in the trial as a civil plaintiff is inconsistent with his office as head of state. Last week in an interview broadcast on France's two main evening news bulletins, Sarkozy, himself a lawyer by training, said examining magistrates had "decided that the guilty should be brought before a criminal court." Villepin's lawyers say that remark violated the principle of presumption of innocence for their client, who is one of five defendants in the case.
"According to these comments, there is no doubt about the guilt of the defendants and the judges won't have anything to do besides dividing up responsibility," read the filing, posted on the website of the daily Le Monde. No comment was available from the president's office. An initial hearing will be held in coming weeks but no result will be possible for some years as under French law, sitting presidents have judicial immunity until they leave office.