Former French Prime Minister Mr Alain Juppe announced today he would remain in politics and fight a conviction for political corruption.
Mr Juppe's announcement live on television salvaged President Jacques Chirac's hopes that his close ally could eventually succeed him as president and temporarily heads off a power struggle in their centre-right UMP party.
A court last Friday gave Mr Juppe an 18-month suspended jail sentence and barred him from elected office for 10 years. But he can remain a member of parliament, mayor of Bordeaux and head of the UMP pending an appeal against the verdict.