Villepin cleared over smear campaign against rival Sarkozy

Mr De Villepin, once one of the president's biggest rivals, had been accused of slander in using faked documents to link Mr Sarkozy to a corruption probe.

His acquittal in Paris yesterday paves the way for Mr de Villepin to try to return to the world of politics, including a possible run for the presidency in 2012.

Mr Villepin maintained his innocence throughout the trial and claimed the case was politically motivated.

Mr Sarkozy said the alleged smear campaign, which came when he was a member of former president Jacques Chirac's government, was intended to upend his bid for the presidency in 2007. Mr Sarkozy filed the legal action, claiming he believed Mr Villepin was "the primary instigator" of it.

Mr Villepin was also a minister in Mr Chirac's government at the time of the alleged plot. He claimed Mr Sarkozy was using the trial as a political weapon. Mr Sarkozy was one of 40 plaintiffs in the case, and the acquittal was likely to hurt his public standing.

The affair began with a mysterious list purporting to show clients who held secret accounts with Luxembourg clearing house Clearstream, including Mr Sarkozy and other leading French political and business figures. The accounts were purportedly created to hold bribes from a 1991 sale of warships to Taiwan, among other shady income.

Mr Villepin was given the list, and he asked a retired general to investigate it. It turned out to be a hoax, but was by then already circulating in political and legal circles.