Chirac defends judges in row with Sarkozy
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French President Jacques Chirac backed  the judiciary on Friday in a row with Interior Minister Nicolas  Sarkozy, who has accused judges of being too lenient.
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"Whether you like it or not, it undermines the function of the president."  For Jacques Chirac, the legal clock is ticking: At midnight Saturday, the former French leader officially loses his presidential immunity, and could face investigators' questions _ or worse.Judges could come knocking over at least five cases involving suspected corruption and alleged financial misdeeds, most dating to Chirac's time as Paris mayor from 1977 to 1995 _ the year he became president.It's unlikely that Chirac, 74, would ever go to jail, but the cases loom as a humiliating coda to his four-decade political career. Since the Fifth Republic was founded in 1958, a former head of state has never been required to answer allegations of wrongdoing from earlier in his career. Read more
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President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s refusal to pardon prisoners on Bastille Day stirred debate, with the justice minister on Monday calling it a &quot;true political break&quot; with past practice by French leaders.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy is at odds with his foreign minister over whether the country's international television news channel should ditch English and Arabic, and broadcast only in French.
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Former French PM Dominique de Villepin criticises the style of his one-time rival, President Nicolas Sarkozy.
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CBI director general Digby Jones yesterday clashed with French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy over the state-backed rescue of one of France&#39;s biggest industrial companies.
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French President Jacques Chirac has launched a stinging attack on President Thabo Mbeki's efforts to bring peace to Ivory Coast, suggesting he lacks understanding of the "psychology and soul" of West Africa.
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Judges were questioning former French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday in an investigation into a party financing scandal dating to his time as Paris mayor, judicial officials said.
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France's interior minister and presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy stood accused by top judges Thursday of undermining the work of the judiciary after he lashed out at the courts of a riot-hit Paris suburb ...Comment
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The French parliamentarian whose attempts to free two French hostages held in Iraq have provoked widespread official and media criticism hit back at attacks on his failed initiative.
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Allies of Jacques Chirac went on trial on  Monday charged with vote-rigging in Paris at a time when the  French president was city mayor.
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"In a spirit of clarity and responsibility I plan to remind the judges of this context, in the absence of which one understands nothing"  Former French president Jacques Chirac was questioned Thursday by a judge looking into a party funding scam dating from his time as mayor of Paris, judicial officials said. via Free Republic
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Former French president Jacques Chirac was questioned Thursday by a judge looking into a party funding scam dating from his time as mayor of Paris, judicial officials said.
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France's president is heading for a showdown with European finance ministers over the French economy.
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SUPPORTERS of President Chirac will try to change the French Constitution this week to protect him from prosecution for political corruption as soon as he leaves office.
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In a thinly-veiled attack against President Nicolas Sarkozy, a group of leading French politicians have signed an appeal opposing the creation of an "elective monarchy" in France.
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Former French prime minister summoned for questioning by investigating judges 'who expect to file preliminary charges against him'.