March 16, 2007	Friday	Safar 26, 1428

PARIS, March 15: President Jacques Chirac is to be questioned after he leaves office in May by a judge looking into a corruption case dating from his time as mayor of Paris, justice officials said on Thursday.

They said no date had been set for the interview, but it could happen any time after mid-June when Chirac’s presidential immunity expires.

The probe is into a kickback scheme in which workers for Chirac’s Rally for the Republic (RPR) party had salaries paid for by Paris city hall or companies that won contracts there. Chirac, 74, was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.

An official said it was “most probable” that the president would be questioned as an “assisted witness” rather than as an ordinary witness. This means that Mr Chirac would have the right to be accompanied by a lawyer as there were suspicions weighing against him.

The Elysee palace said that “since this information is unsourced, there is not call for a reaction”. Chirac’s name has been linked to several illegal party-funding scandals during his long tenure as mayor of Paris, but as president he was immune from questioning by magistrates. The immunity ends a month after he steps down on May 16.

The so-called “fake jobs” scandal led in 2003 to a series of prosecutions of senior RPR figures, including Chirac’s close ally Alain Juppe who received a suspended jail term and a year-long ban on public office.

However, in 1999 the magistrate in charge of the case declared himself unable to look into the president’s own role – which he consigned to a separate dossier. This could now be reactivated once he leaves power.

The main piece of evidence is a note in Chirac’s handwriting from 1993, in which he apparently asked for a city hall employee to receive a payment for work done for the RPR.—AFP