Chirac to Face Judges Over Party Funding Scandal, Says Lawyer

France's former president, Jacques Chirac, is to be questioned by judges over a party funding scandal dating back to his time as Paris mayor, his lawyer said yesterday.

Mr Chirac's presidency was dogged by sleaze allegations from his tenure at Paris city hall but, as head of state, he enjoyed immunity from prosecution and could not be questioned by investigators. That protection ran out this month and Mr Chirac, 74, will be interviewed by examining magistrates before September 15.

Mr Chirac's lawyer, Jean Veil, said he had agreed to see judges because the case dated back to before his presidency when he was "a citizen like any other".

The inquiry concerns Mr Chirac's term as Paris mayor from 1977 to 1995, when he also headed the conservative Rally for the Republic party. Investigators say party workers were illegally put on the Paris city hall payroll, receiving salaries for fake jobs. The former prime minister Alain Juppé, a close Chirac ally, was convicted over the fake jobs scandal in 2004 and received a 14-month suspended prison sentence.

Magistrates want to question Mr Chirac over a letter Mr Juppé sent him in May 1990 regarding the promotion of individuals on city payrolls suspected of really working for Mr Chirac's party. Mr Chirac will appear as an "assisted witness", which means that the possibility of criminal charges remains open. He could later become the subject of a formal investigation if new evidence comes to light.

Mr Chirac has always denied wrongdoing as Paris mayor.

His lawyer stressed his refusal to be interviewed over cases during his time as president, such as the so-called Clearstream affair involving a smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy, and the alleged killing of a French judge in Djibouti in 1995.