Sarkozy could be summoned for inquiry
Outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy will lose his immunity to prosecution and could be summoned by magistrates probing alleged illegal campaign financing, the Wall Street Journal said.
A spokesman for Mr. Sarkozy declined to comment.
From mid-June, however, when he loses the immunity that protected him from prosecution while in office, Mr. Sarkozy may also be summoned for questioning by a magistrate looking into accusations that France's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt helped finance his victorious 2007 campaign.
The probe was launched in 2010 after Ms. Bettencourt's ex-accountant, Claire Thibout, alleged the billionaire had made numerous cash donations to Mr. Sarkozy's ruling party, Union pour un Mouvement Populaire.
Mr. Sarkozy has repeatedly denied allegations that Ms. Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal SA cosmetics empire, illegally supported his campaign. Through her lawyers, Ms. Bettencourt has repeatedly said that she only made legal donations to Mr. Sarkozy's UMP party, and to his campaign.