Problems for Jacques Chirac

Now that he no longer has the immunity that he had as the president of France, he is open to all sorts of investigations into his corruption. The first scandal will likely center around the explosive information that he has a secret Japanese bank account with at least 30 million pounds.

LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.

Papers seized by two investigating magistrates from General Philippe Rondot, a former head of the DGSE, France's intelligence service, show Mr Chirac opened an account in the mid-1990s at Tokyo Sowa Bank, credited with the equivalent of £30 million. It is not known where the money came from, nor whether it is connected to various kick-back scandals to which Mr Chirac's name has been linked over the past decade.

Last year, Mr Chirac "categorically denied" having a bank account in Japan.

The seized documents have been described by the magistrates as "explosive" and are believed to contain copies of the former president's bank statements.

I bet this is just the start of the French people finding out what type of government they've had under Jacques Chirac. After all, this information came to light as part of another corruption investigation. And Sarkozy isn't going to find any political benefit into protecting his predecessor