Chirac's trial on corruption charges delayed

PARIS - The trial of former President Jacques Chirac on corruption charges was suspended for at least three months yesterday - raising doubts about whether the case will ever come to court.

A constitutional objection, raised by the lawyer of one of Chirac's co-defendants, forced the judge to adjourn the trial until at least June.

Although the Chirac defence team denied all responsibility, anti-corruption campaigners insisted the constitutional complaint was the latest manoeuvre by the former President's entourage to spare him the humiliation of a trial.

Depending on the progress of the disputed point through the appeal court and France's equivalent of the Supreme Court, the trial could be delayed for at least six months. Chirac's health, and especially his memory, are already in doubt.

Anti-corruption campaigners and the French media speculated yesterday the ex-President, 78, might never face the 28 charges of misusing taxpayers' money to fund his political career.

Chirac did not appear for the two days of procedural and constitutional wrangling this week. Had he done so, he would have been the first French former head of state to appear as a defendant in court since Field Marshall Philippe Petain was convicted of treason in 1945.

The accusations go back to Chirac's period as mayor of Paris from 1977-95. They have taken so long to reach trial, partly because Chirac claimed presidential immunity while he was in the Elysee Palace from 1995 to 2007.

He is accused, after two separate investigations, of putting 28 people on the town hall payroll who had nothing to do with Paris. Some were cronies or political allies.

Most allegedly worked, at the Paris taxpayers' expense, for Chirac's "Gaullist" political party, the Rassemblement pour la Republique.

If convicted, the former President nominally faces prison but, in practice, would probably receive a suspended jail sentence and a fine.

- Independent