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| French Ex-President Sarkozy Said to be Held for Questioning | French Ex-President Sarkozy Said to be Held for Questioning |
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| PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, was detained for questioning by French anti-corruption investigators on Tuesday as part of an inquiry into breach of judicial secrecy and influence peddling, according to news agencies and French media reports, which characterized the tenacity and depth of the investigation against a former president as unprecedented. | PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, was detained for questioning by French anti-corruption investigators on Tuesday as part of an inquiry into breach of judicial secrecy and influence peddling, according to news agencies and French media reports, which characterized the tenacity and depth of the investigation against a former president as unprecedented. |
| The anticorruption police are trying to establish whether Mr. Sarkozy, with the help of his lawyer Thierry Herzog, tried to obtain information from a well-placed magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, about an investigation that ensnared the former president. | The anticorruption police are trying to establish whether Mr. Sarkozy, with the help of his lawyer Thierry Herzog, tried to obtain information from a well-placed magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, about an investigation that ensnared the former president. |
| Mr. Sarkozy, who led France’s most prominent conservative party, was questioned a day after investigators questioned Mr. Herzog and two magistrates, including Mr. Azibert. Under French law, the subject of an investigation can be arrested and questioned for up to 24 hours, with a possible extension of another day, without being formally charged with a crime. | Mr. Sarkozy, who led France’s most prominent conservative party, was questioned a day after investigators questioned Mr. Herzog and two magistrates, including Mr. Azibert. Under French law, the subject of an investigation can be arrested and questioned for up to 24 hours, with a possible extension of another day, without being formally charged with a crime. |
| A series of court cases and judicial investigations have followed Mr. Sarkozy since he left office in 2012, and expectations that he could run again for the French presidency in 2017 have served to intensify interest in the man once dubbed President “Bling Bling” because of his flamboyant personal style. Global interest in Mr. Sarkozy has also been fanned by his glamorous wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. | A series of court cases and judicial investigations have followed Mr. Sarkozy since he left office in 2012, and expectations that he could run again for the French presidency in 2017 have served to intensify interest in the man once dubbed President “Bling Bling” because of his flamboyant personal style. Global interest in Mr. Sarkozy has also been fanned by his glamorous wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. |
| In March, the daily newspaper Le Monde reported on an operation in which the authorities had for a year been tapping the phones of Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Herzog and two of Mr. Sarkozy’s former ministers. While not illegal, the spying on a former president was a highly unusual tactic in a country where the office of the presidency is revered. | In March, the daily newspaper Le Monde reported on an operation in which the authorities had for a year been tapping the phones of Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Herzog and two of Mr. Sarkozy’s former ministers. While not illegal, the spying on a former president was a highly unusual tactic in a country where the office of the presidency is revered. |
| Mr. Sarkozy appears to be the first former president to have had his private conversations monitored by investigators. The case has spurred lurid headlines and called into question whether the surveillance of Mr. Herzog’s phone was a breach of attorney-client privilege. | Mr. Sarkozy appears to be the first former president to have had his private conversations monitored by investigators. The case has spurred lurid headlines and called into question whether the surveillance of Mr. Herzog’s phone was a breach of attorney-client privilege. |
| The latest twist in the case could be devastating for Mr. Sarkozy’s hopes of a political comeback. And while the scandal has been damaging for Mr. Sarkozy and the right, it has also proved embarrassing for the Socialist government of President François Hollande, which initially sought to distance itself from the questionable act of tapping a former president’s phone. But government ministers, including the justice minister, Christiane Taubira, admitted they were informed of the phone tapping as early as February. | The latest twist in the case could be devastating for Mr. Sarkozy’s hopes of a political comeback. And while the scandal has been damaging for Mr. Sarkozy and the right, it has also proved embarrassing for the Socialist government of President François Hollande, which initially sought to distance itself from the questionable act of tapping a former president’s phone. But government ministers, including the justice minister, Christiane Taubira, admitted they were informed of the phone tapping as early as February. |
| Among the accusations against Mr. Sarkozy is that in 2007 his presidential campaign received up to 50 million euros, or about $68 million, in illegal funds from Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. | Among the accusations against Mr. Sarkozy is that in 2007 his presidential campaign received up to 50 million euros, or about $68 million, in illegal funds from Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya. |
| Mr. Sarkozy has consistently denied any allegations of impropriety, and has said he received no financial support from Libya. He has insisted that the accusations – made by former allies of Mr. Qaddafi and his sons – are politically motivated and derive from his role in orchestrating the international military intervention in Libya in 2011 that ultimately led to Mr. Qaddafi being overthrown. | Mr. Sarkozy has consistently denied any allegations of impropriety, and has said he received no financial support from Libya. He has insisted that the accusations – made by former allies of Mr. Qaddafi and his sons – are politically motivated and derive from his role in orchestrating the international military intervention in Libya in 2011 that ultimately led to Mr. Qaddafi being overthrown. |
| Suspicions have also focused on the magistrate, Mr. Azibert, who is believed to have fed information to Mr. Sarkozy on the direction of the judicial proceedings against him. According to Le Monde, recorded conversations between the two men included a discussion of whether Mr. Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign received improper donations from Liliane Bettencourt, the 91 year-old L’Oréal heiress and France’s richest woman. Evidence in that case has been used in another case in which Mr. Sarkozy has come under suspicion with regard to a $550 million state payout in 2008 to Bernard Tapie, a businessman with a murky past. | Suspicions have also focused on the magistrate, Mr. Azibert, who is believed to have fed information to Mr. Sarkozy on the direction of the judicial proceedings against him. According to Le Monde, recorded conversations between the two men included a discussion of whether Mr. Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign received improper donations from Liliane Bettencourt, the 91 year-old L’Oréal heiress and France’s richest woman. Evidence in that case has been used in another case in which Mr. Sarkozy has come under suspicion with regard to a $550 million state payout in 2008 to Bernard Tapie, a businessman with a murky past. |
| An investigation into breach of judicial secrecy and influence-peddling was opened amid suspicions that Mr. Azibert was Mr. Sarkozy’s informant, according to Le Monde and government documents. In return for keeping the former president briefed, the French media reported, Mr. Azibert suggested to Mr. Sarkozy that he would appreciate obtaining a post in the seaside principality of Monaco. | An investigation into breach of judicial secrecy and influence-peddling was opened amid suspicions that Mr. Azibert was Mr. Sarkozy’s informant, according to Le Monde and government documents. In return for keeping the former president briefed, the French media reported, Mr. Azibert suggested to Mr. Sarkozy that he would appreciate obtaining a post in the seaside principality of Monaco. |
| The Élysée, the office of the French president; Véronique Waché, the chief spokesperson for Mr. Sarkozy; and a spokesman for Mr. Sarkozy’s UMP party all declined comment. |