Sarkozy arrested and quizzed in 2007 campaign corruption investigation

A French judicial official said yesterday that Mr Sarkozy was in custody in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

French media reports said Mr Sarkozy was being questioned in an investigation into financing for his 2007 presidential campaign.

The case centres on whether Mr Sarkozy and his lawyer were given inside information on the investigation by a friendly magistrate. The ex-president and his lawyer have denied wrongdoing.

Mr Sarkozy is considering a political comeback after his 2012 defeat by President Francois Hollande. His lawyer, Thierry Herzog, was also being held for questioning.

Investigators are basing suspicions at least in part on tapped phone conversations that the former president has compared to secret police actions in the old East Germany.

Allies from his conservative UMP party – which has been in leadership crisis because of questions over spending during Sarkozy’s 2012 presidential campaign – jumped to his defence. “They have never imposed such treatment on a former president, with such a surge of hate,” lawmaker Christian Estrosi said.