Villepin arrives for Clearstream hearing

July 27, 2007

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin was placed under formal investigation Friday -- a first step to possible criminal charges -- over a smear campaign targeting President Nicolas Sarkozy, justice officials said. Villepin was questioned for 50 minutes by two judges probing the so-called Clearstream affair, in which Sarkozy's name was wrongly linked in 2004 to an illegal bank account in Luxembourg.