Defence lawyers see Sarkozy's hand in ex-PM trial

October 21, 2009

Lawyers for former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin accused prosecutors Wednesday of building a case to please the "pernicious prince" Nicolas Sarkozy and called for an acquittal. Villepin is accused of conspiring in 2004 to discredit his long-time rival Sarkozy and derail his presidential bid at a time when the two men were jostling to succeed president Jacques Chirac. Delivering closing arguments in the sensational trial, lawyer Luc Brosselet attacked a "schizophrenic" case against his client that he said hinged on shaky evidence from unreliable witnesses.