Former president Nicolas Sarkozy's political comeback suffers blow

Nicolas Sarkozy suffered a judicial setback threatening to spoil his political comeback when a court dismissed his request to halt an investigation into alleged corruption.

The ruling by the Paris court of appeal on Thursday means that phone conversations between Mr Sarkozy and his lawyer revealing an alleged attempt to corrupt a judge into leaking inside information can be used as part of the probe. Mr Sarkozy has appealed against the decision, according to his lawyers.

The ruling comes at a crucial time for Mr Sarkozy, who is seeking to revamp his UMP party ahead of the 2017 presidential elections. The former president returned to politics last year to unite the centre-right group, which had been pulled apart by infighting and scandals since he was defeated by socialist leader Francois Hollande in 2012.

Elected as UMP chief in November, Mr Sarkozy is seeking permission to overhaul and rebrand the party as "Les Republicains" during a policy-setting congress at the end of the month in Paris.

Although a new generation of politicians and rising support for former prime minister Alain Juppe have eroded his popularity among rightwing voters, he is well positioned to become the party's presidential candidate after leading his camp to victory in local elections in March. But Thursday's court decision is a reminder of the legal issues that former president faces ahead of the 2017 presidential election.

The French final court of appeal may take several months to rule on Mr Sarkozy's latest appeal. But if it upholds the Paris court's decision, the corruption probe, in which Mr Sarkozy is under formal investigation - one step short of being charged - would resume and possibly lead to a trial.

The phone conversations were tapped as part of a separate judicial probe into allegations that there were €50m in illicit donations from former Libyan dictator Muammer Gaddafi to Mr Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. Mr Sarkozy has denied the Gaddafi allegations.

French daily newspaper Le Monde previously reported that in the phone taps, the former president appeared to receive confidential information on inquiries connected to him from a senior prosecutor and that he seemed willing to help the judge get a job in Monaco in return.

These conversations led to the opening of the corruption investigation. In July last year, Mr Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation after more than 12 hours of questioning in police custody.

"I have never committed any act contrary to republican principles or the law. There has been an attempt to humiliate me," Mr Sarkozy said at the time.

A spokesman for the UMP on Thursday denounced "those who attempt to put a spoke in his wheels" and the "manipulation of justice to prevent Nicolas Sarkozy from coming back." Mr Sarkozy told BFMTV on Thursday that he was "serene."

In October 2013, an investigation into allegations that Mr Sarkozy solicited illegal campaign financing from France's wealthiest woman Liliane Bettencourt was dropped for lack of evidence.

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