Chirac trial delayed for months

The trial of former French President Jacques Chirac on corruption charges has been postponed until June. Judge Dominique Pauthe said today the would be suspended after a protest by a defence lawyer that a key complaint in the case was made too long ago...

The trial of former French President Jacques Chirac on corruption charges has been postponed until June.

Judge Dominique Pauthe said today the would be suspended after a protest by a defence lawyer that a key complaint in the case was made too long ago to merit a trial today, and that it was not constitutional to combine two cases for a single trial.

The decision was an unexpected twist in a case that took years to come to court.

The trial centres on Chirac's time as mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995. He is the first French leader to face trial since the Second World War.

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