French judges have filed preliminary charges against former prime minister Dominique de Villepin for his suspected role in a smear campaign that targeted Nicolas Sarkozy before he became France's president.
Mr de Villepin was charged with "complicity in slanderous denunciations" after being questioned by investigative judges, said a lawyer for the former prime minister.
The case stems from an attempt three years ago to discredit Mr Sarkozy, who was a government minister at the time and a political rival of Mr Villepin within their conservative UMP party.
Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin leaves the financial investigation unit in Paris
Mr Sarkozy and other prominent figures were falsely accused of having secret bank accounts to hold bribes from a 1991 sale of frigates to Taiwan.
Under French law, preliminary charges mean there is strong evidence to suggest involvement in a crime. The filing gives the magistrate time to pursue a deeper investigation that could lead a trial.
Mr Villepin denied wrongdoing in the case, which shook the government of former President Jacques Chirac.
"At no moment did I take part in any political manoeuvring," he said after appearing before the judges.
Mr Villepin has said he acted "strictly in the framework" of his jobs as foreign minister and interior minister at the time of the scandal.
Earlier this year, investigators searched his home and office after the discovery of his name in computer files belonging to a Defence Ministry official, General Philippe Rondot.
Gen Rondot wrote in his notes that two key players in the affair told him they acted on orders from Villepin.
Other prominent figures have been questioned in the case, including former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, defence minister at the time. Mr Chirac has refused to be questioned in the affair, citing judicial immunity granted for acts during his presidential tenure.