Nicolas Sarkozy 'perverted course of justice' in trial of Dominique de Villepin

Peddlar Sarkozy was accused yesterday of perverting the course of justice after he said that Dominique de Villepin, his former rival and boss who is on trial for forgery, was guilty of waging a smear campaign against him.

Mr Sarkozy’s remark, on television from New York, reinforced a widespread view that the so-called Clearstream trial, which opened on Monday, is more political vendetta than judicial process.

“After a two-year investigation, two independent investigating judges ruled that the guilty parties should be tried before a criminal court,” Mr Sarkozy said in an evening news broadcast watched by 12 million people.

This played into the hands of Mr Villepin, the last Prime Minister, who claimed at the opening of the trial on Monday that he was the innocent victim of persecution by a President who was out to destroy him. More