Jacques in the soup as corruption probe nears

The long arm of the French law has finally caught up with Jacques Chirac (left, with his successor and one-time protege Nicolas Sarkozy). The former president, whose time in officer was dogged by allegations of sleaze from his long stint as Mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995, is under formal investigation for the suspected embezzlement of public funds. His lawyer made the announcement after Chirac was interviewed for a second time yesterday.

Chirac, who was immune from prosecution while he was president but lost that privilege when he stepped down in May, is the 21st suspect to face preliminary charges in a huge investigation into a political jobs scam. It is alleged that fake jobs were handed out to sympathisers of Chirac's party, the conservative RPR, during both his years as mayor and those of his successor Jean Tiberi, 1995-2001.

Prosecutors believe the equivalent of millions of euros in salaries and fees was paid out to the party. One of Chirac's closest allies, former prime minister Alain Juppe, was convicted over the scandal in 2004, receiving a 14-month suspended prison sentence.

When Chirac was first interviewed in July, he appeared before Judge Alain Philibeaux as a 'material witness' which, under French law, put his status between that of a witness and a suspect. The change of status to being 'under formal investigation' brings him a step closer to being charged - which would be a first for an ex-president. ·