Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will face trial over charges of corruption and misuse of influence, France's financial prosecutor says.

The former leader will stand trial over claims he used his influence to secure leaked details of an inquiry into alleged irregularities during his 2007 election campaign.

A lawyer for Sarkozy, who was in office from 2007 to 2012, said the former president would be appealing against the decision to send the case to trial.

Charges were pressed after investigators used phone-taps to look into separate allegations that the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi funded Mr Sarkozy's campaign.

They started to suspect that the 63-year-old had kept tabs on a separate case through a network of informants.


Image: Nicolas Sarkozy (L) greets the late Muammar Gaddafi in Paris in 2007

Mr Sarkozy is alleged to have accepted €50m (£43.8m) from Gaddafi's regime, claims which have been repeated by the dictator's son and French businessman Ziad Takieddine.

The amount would be more than double the legal spending limit in French elections at that time, which was €21m.

The alleged payments would also violate French laws on foreign financing and declaring the source of campaign funds.

Mr Sarkozy and his campaign manager have repeatedly denied accepting money from Libya.

In March 2011, Saif al Islam Gaddafi, Gaddafi's son, told Euronews: "Sarkozy has to give back the money he accepted from Libya to finance his electoral campaign. We financed his campaign and we have the proof…

"The first thing we're demanding is that this clown gives back the money to the Libyan people."

Mr Takieddine claims he delivered three suitcases stuffed with cash to Paris between 2006 and 2007, and handed them over to Mr Sarkozy in the interior ministry when he was a minister.

Mr Sarkozy has already been ordered to stand trial over the financing of his 2012 re-election campaign, when he lost to Francois Hollande.

Mr Sarkozy attempted to stage a comeback for the 2017 presidential election, but failed to convince the voters in his own party to support him as he conceded to Francois Fillon.