France’s Sarkozy loses firstappeal over corruption trial

PARIS: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday lost a first appeal against facing trial over influence peddling and corruption charges and must await a second appeal before knowing if he will be sent to court, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, is suspected of helping a prosecutor get promoted in return for leaked information about a separate criminal inquiry. Investigators were using phone-taps to examine allegations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi funded Sarkozy’s election campaign when they began to suspect the former French leader had used a network of informants to keep tabs on the criminal case.