ormer French President Jacques Chirac was found guilty by a French criminal court of misusing Paris city funds during his years as mayor.
Chirac, 79, was found guilty of all three charges against him related to diverting city money to benefit his political party and reward supporters, the court ruled Thursday.
He received a two-year suspended prison sentence, meaning he won’t be jailed unless he commits further offenses.
The mayor of Paris from 1977 until 1995, except for a two-year period when he was prime minister, Chirac is the first French head of state to stand trial since World War II.
The corruption investigation was delayed until after he stepped down as president in 2007 by rules shielding sitting leaders from investigations for anything expect treason.
Chirac “was the initiator and principle author” of the plan through which Paris funds were used to benefit party loyalists, Judge Dominique Pauthe said. “His deliberate actions failed his duties to the detriment of Paris.”
Twenty-eight job contracts were reviewed by the court. Chirac was found guilty of misusing public funds on 12 of the posts.
Chirac, who was absent from court due to ill health, will not appeal, even if he “categorically contests the judgment,” his office said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Two of Chirac’s nine co-defendants were cleared. The others were found guilty of either aiding in the scheme or benefiting from it. France’s current Minister of foreign affairs, Alain Juppé, was sentenced to a 14-month suspended prison sentence for the same case in 2004.
Prosecutors said in September that Chirac should be cleared, arguing all the jobs were legitimate. Under the French legal system, independent investigating judges decide whether a case should go to trial, even if prosecutors don’t agree.
The City of Paris dropped its claim after reaching a settlement in which the former president and the Union for a Popular Movement, successor to Chirac’s party, paid 2.2 million euros (USD$2.9 million) without admitting guilt.
Timeline of Chirac’s Career
1962: Chirac joins the staff of Prime Minister George Pompidou.
1974-1976: Chirac serves as Prime minister under President Valery Giscard d’Estaing.
1977: Chirac is elected mayor of Paris.
1986-1988: Chirac serves as Prime minister under President Francois Mitterrand.
1995: Chirac wins the presidential election.
2000: Chirac is named in several cases of alleged corruption tied to his time as Paris mayor.
2002: Chirac wins a second term as president.
2003: Chirac’s opposition to the US-Iraq war wins him popularity.
2005: Chirac is hospitalized for minor stroke.
2009: Chirac is ordered to stand trial on embezzlement charges.
Mar 2011: Chirac goes on trial.
Dec 2011: Chirac is found guilty and given a suspended sentence of two years.
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