Former French foreign minister Mr Roland Dumas and six others are set to be judged by a Paris court today for their role in one of the biggest corruption scandals in France in recent years.
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Former French foreign minister Mr Roland Dumas
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Mr Dumas, his former mistress Ms Christine Deviers-Joncour, former Elf chairman Mr Loik Le Floch-Prigent and the four other accused face prison sentences and fines on charges relating to the misappropriation of funds from the former state-owned oil giant Elf Aquitaine.
All pleaded not guilty during the trial, which has transfixed the public with its mix of sex, power and money.
Prosecutors have asked that Mr Dumas - who was forced to step down as head of France'sConstitutional Council over the scandal - be imprisoned for two years and fined 2.5 million francs (£300,000).
Mr Dumas (78), a friend of the late French president Francois Mitterrand, is accused of using his influence in 1989 to secure a fictitious job for Ms Deviers-Joncour at Elf and of benefiting from the 64.9 million francs (£7.8 million) she was paid over the following four years.
Among the gifts Ms Deviers-Joncour was said to have lavished on her lover were a pair of custom-made shoes worth $1,500, antique Greek statuettes and the use of a 17-million-franc luxury Paris flat.
AFP