French ex-president Sarkozy to stand trial in Oct on graft charges

Nicolas Sarkozy will on October 5 become France's first ex-president to stand trial on corruption charges in a case in which he is accused of trying to obtain classified information from a judge.

The trial will last until October 22, a Paris court said.

This will be the first trial in several graft investigations against Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012.

Jacques Chirac, who died last September, was the first ex-president put on trial but not on corruption charges -- he was found guilty in 2011 of embezzlement and misuse of public funds during his time as mayor of Paris.

Sarkozy stands accused of seeking to obtain, through his lawyer Thierry Herzog, classified information from then-judge Gilbert Azibert in 2014, about another investigation.

Last June, appeals judges rejected a challenge against the case filed by Sarkozy, Herzog and Azibert.

Since losing to the Socialist Party's Francois Hollande and leaving office, Sarkozy has fought a barrage of corruption and campaign financing allegations, all of which he rejects.

Last October, a court ruled he must stand trial for illicit campaign financing -- a charge for which he risks a one-year jail term and a fine.

In that case, prosecutors say Sarkozy spent nearly 43 million euros ($40 million) on his failed 2012 re-election bid -- almost double the legal limit of 22.5 million euros -- using fake invoices.

He has said he was unaware of the fraud by executives at the public relations firm Bygmalion, who are among 13 others being pursued in the case.

Sarkozy has also been charged over accusations he accepted millions of euros from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi towards his first presidential campaign in 2007.