According to French media, a corruption investigation against former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been suspended.
They quote judicial sources as saying that Paris appeals court will now study a request by Nicolas Sarkozy for the case to be dismissed.
Nicolas Sarkozy, 59, is still facing several other judicial investigations.
Last week he said he would seek the leadership of the opposition UMP party – the move widely seen as a first step towards a presidential bid in 2017.
Although Nicolas Sarkozy has kept a low profile since leaving office, he has faced a series of investigations that involve him in some capacity (photo AFP)
Nicolas Sarkozy’s announcement ended months of speculation about the intentions of the conservative former president, who vowed to give up politics after he failed to be re-elected in 2012.
The UMP party elections are due to be held in November.
Although Nicolas Sarkozy has kept a low profile since leaving office, he has faced a series of investigations that involve him in some capacity.
The suspended case relates to an alleged attempt to influence judges who were looking into his affairs.
The suspension could last several months, according to AFP news agency.
Other inquiries include one into his links with late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and another into illegal campaign funding in 2012.
Nicolas Sarkozy denies wrongdoing.
Stephane Richard, CEO of France Telecom-Orange, has been held in custody for questioning in Bernard Tapie corruption case.
Stephane Richard, who previously worked in the French Finance Ministry, was quizzed over his role in a 2008 payment made to the businessman Bernard Tapie.
The businessman denies any wrongdoing.
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has also been called upon to testify in the case.
She was the French Finance Minister at the time in question while Stephane Richard was her chief of staff.
Stephane Richard, CEO of France Telecom-Orange, has been held in custody for questioning in Bernard Tapie corruption case
France Telecom-Orange said the questioning was expected and that Stephane Richard remained in charge. He can be held for up to 48 hours.
His contract at the partly state-owned company is up for renewal next year and the position is chosen by the government.
“The state in its role as a shareholder will take a position if needed at the right time on the continuing case,” Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said in a statement.
The Court of Justice of the Republic, which investigates ministerial misconduct in France, is looking into claims that Bernard Tapie may have received favorable treatment because of his support for the former President, Nicolas Sarkozy.
He received a payment of 400 million euros ($520 million) as part of a settlement in a long-running business dispute, which critics say was too generous.
After two days of questioning Christine Lagarde was made a key witness in the case – a status that means she is unlikely to be prosecuted.
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French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy is to be investigated over accusations of a breach of secrecy in an alleged corruption case, the “Karachi affair”, agency AFP reports.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s office had said in 2011 that the president was not named in any of the case documents.
Plaintiffs in the case say that was a violation of confidentiality.
The long-running investigation stems from the death of 11 French engineers in a bombing in Pakistan in 2002, which may have been linked to French bribes.
Nicolas Sarkozy is to be investigated over accusations of a breach of secrecy in alleged corruption case Karachi affair
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