Former French President Jacques Chirac will be questioned in the next few months over corruption scandal dating back to the days he was mayor of Paris.

Former French President Jacques Chirac is to be questioned in the coming months over a corruption scandal involving fake jobs and linked to the former conservative political party he headed, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Chirac will “very probably” be questioned before Sept. 15 in the long-running case as a material witness, lawyer Jean Veil said on RTL radio. The role of a material witness means that Chirac himself is not under investigation.

The fake jobs case is the most potent of a string of potential legal problems the 74-year-old Chirac faces now that he no longer has presidential immunity. He handed over the French presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy on May 16.

The jobs case dates back to Chirac’s years as mayor of Paris, from 1977 to 1995, when Chirac also headed the conservative party Rally for the Republic, or RPR. Investigators say operatives from the RPR were illegally on the Paris city payroll.

Remember, a conservative in France is about as conservative as Ted Kennedy in the US. I wonder if Chirac will do what he does best and run up a white flag while being questioned?