Live updates
- ITV Report
Ex-French president Sarkozy to face corruption trial
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been ordered to stand trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling.
Read the full story ›- ITV Report
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to face trial
The former French president is to stand trial over allegations of illegal campaign spending on his failed 2012 re-election bid.
Read the full story ›Advertisement
- ITV Report
France Republican primary: Nicolas Sarkozy defeated
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been defeated in the conservative nomination contest for the 2017 presidential election.
Read the full story ›- ITV Report
Sarkozy would give UK 'chance to reverse Brexit vote'
Nicolas Sarkozy would give Britain the chance to reverse the Brexit vote if he is elected president of France.
Read the full story ›Sarkozy 'preliminarily charged' over campaign funding
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed preliminary charges over suspected illegal overspending on his failed 2012 re-election bid.
France capped presidential funding to 22.5 million euro (£17.5 million) in 2012.
Sarkozy, who lost out to Francois Holllande, is accused of spending 17 million euro (£13.2 million) over that.
The 61-year-old, who is now France's main opposition leader, has been questioned by prosecutors and could face fraud charges.
Preliminary charges mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed.
But it gives them more time to investigate before deciding whether to send suspects to trial.
Several people close to Mr Sarkozy, including his former top adviser, also face preliminary charges in the case.
Sarkozy has already been fined 364,000 euro (£283,000) for overspending in the case.
Sarkozy: Attack is a declaration of war against democracy
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described the terror attack at a gas factory as a "declaration war against France, democracy, and civilisation itself".
Sarkozy released a statement after the attack in which he called for the French public to be resilient.
This is a message, macabre and bloody in its implementation, from the perpetrator or perpetrators of this attack of a declaration war, not only against France and democracy, but to civilization, too.
We have the duty to defend ourselves with the utmost determination. This is the fight of all of France.
Never give in against the terrorist barbarity. Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of the victim and the injured.
Advertisement
Sarkozy's UMP party 'leads French local elections'
Election projections for more than 2,000 councils across France show Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party taking the lead, blunting the rise of the far-right National Front.
The initial projections gave the UMP party 31% of the vote compared with 24.5% for the National Front and 19.7% for President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists and their allies.
The Socialists were never expected to do well and had pinned their hopes on a high turnout to counteract the National Front.
Turnout was 51% for the first of two rounds of voting, compared with about 45% in the same elections in 2011.
Marine Le Pen's National Front party has made steady inroads as she tries to build a grassroots army of local officials to buttress her presidential ambitions.
Nicolas Sarkozy announces return to politics
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has announced his return to politics, saying he will seek the leadership of the opposition party UMP.
Le Pen refuses to endorse presidential candidate
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has addressed a rally in Paris. She told her voters to make their own choice in the May 6th presidential election runoff. The two leading candidates - Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande - have been competing for the votes of her supporters.
Marine Le Pen tells voters to make their own choice
Far Right leader Marine Le Pen has told supporters in France to vote as they wish. She said: "You are free citizens", not endorsing Sarkozy.