Nicolas Sarkozy today became the first former French president to be held in police custody as he was questioned over corruption allegations.

The 59-year-old arrived at the offices of the judicial police in Nanterre, the Paris suburb, shortly after 8am.

He was placed “garde a vue” — a legal term meaning he is a suspect at the centre of a major criminal enquiry.

It relates to so-called “influence peddling” — effectively trying to interfere with those investigating him over a range of corruption enquiries.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and two judges were taken into custody for questioning yesterday in relation to the same investigation. Both Sarkozy and Herzog are suspected of trying to pervert the course of justice through their contacts in the judiciary.

Sarkozy is alleged to have offered an attractive job to Gilbert Azibert, one of the judges, in return for inside information about the progress of the so-called Bettencourt affair. This was a case in which Sarkozy was accused of accepting millions in illegal cash from Liliane Bettencourt, the L’Oréal heiress and France’s richest woman, towards his election campaign in 2007.

Investigators also believe Sarkozy was illegally tipped off that his phone was being tapped as part of investigations into another matter, the so-called Gaddafi Affair. This is said to have involved Sarkozy receiving millions more from the late Colonel Gaddafi — the former Libyan leader. The offices of both Gilbert Azibert and Thierry Herzog were raided by police in early March. Computer equipment and a mobile phone belonging to Herzog were seized.

Suspecting that his phone was bugged, Sarkozy is said to have used a dedicated mobile phone, registered under the name of “Paul Bismuth”, for conversations with his lawyer. Sarkozy’s home was raided by anti-corruption police within days of him stepping down as president in 2012. He lost an election to Francois Hollande, meaning he no longer enjoyed presidential immunity from prosecution.

Sarkozy has always insisted that he is innocent of any wrong-doing, saying the allegations are politically motivated, and has indicated that he will try to be re-elected as president in 2017.

But today’s developments are a disaster as far as such ambitions are concerned. His remand in custody is a historic first in France. Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy’s predecessor as president, was found guilty of corruption in 2011. Chirac was never held in police custody, and ended up with a two-year suspended sentence for embezzling public funds when he was Paris mayor.

Sarkozy now faces the possibility of being charged with corruption, which could lead to a trial. If found guilty of influence peddling, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Under the “garde a vue” he can initially be held for 48 hours.