French ex-PM Dominique de Villepin faces appeal trial

He had previously been accused of failing to stop the Clearstream corruption inquiry into Sarkozy in 2004. He was cleared in the case, but the state prosecutor appealed.

The BBC reports from Paris that the outcome of the case could have a major impact on next year's presidential election.

In 2004, when both men were preparing for presidential bids, Sarkozy's name appeared on a list of top politicians and businessmen who were wrongly linked to an illegal bank account in Luxembourg.

It was alleged those named on the list had received bribes from international arms sales.

The list was sent to people including de Villepin, who was accused of failing to stop the conspiracy. Last year a judge cleared de Villepin on all four counts of complicity to slander, to use forgeries, dealing in stolen property and breach of trust.

Several other defendants in the case were found guilty on various charges.

De Villepin has created his own political movement and is widely expected to announce a presidential bid. With polls suggesting he could get 5% of the first-round vote, he could do real damage to Sarkozy.

"We're going to move from a trial that was almost dramatic art to a more technical trial," Olivier Metzner, one of de Villepin's lawyers, said ahead of the appeal case.