The Times, in the name of its witless hack Adam Sage , is telling is that Jacques Chirac, the former French president, has been ordered to stand trial for corruption in a case which has shed light on sleaze allegations from his time as Mayor of Paris.

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Great isnt it.Barrot actually pardoned after a conviction for embezzlement by Chirac himself.So who will pardon the pardoner....should it result in a conviction.

Even better is Barrot is Commissioner for JUSTICE......unbloodybelievable.

Oh yes I heard that on the France Inter this morning, De Villepin has already been sort of found guilty over his Clearstream splat with Sarkozy, Pasqiuer is going to jail for his role in selling arms to Angloa, Jupe will be in the frame again for that one too along with the English admiring Balladur, Chirac too has an honorable mention in Pasqiuers arms trail, but he is getting his own little/big trial for his corruption as the mayor of Paris. I was in fact surprised that it had taken so long to be honest, they had been going on about this case waiting for him after his Presidential immunity had expired for many years and all I had heard about Chirac was him getting mauled by his wifes dog twice and a most simpering documentary about the great President on French TV which caused me to rush to the toilet for a technicoloured yawn.

So if your a member of a centre left party (UMP) defined in France as la droite as compared to the party of the left (Socialists) la gauche who have been in power at any point in time you can be sure that there will be a political magistrate chomping at the bit to get you, Sarkozy will have his day in court for his amazing flower bill I hope.

Of course Chirac is a corrupt old fart and deserves his day in court or worse, but this is the name of the game of politics in France. Though every so often one of the charming left also gets picked up in this too. I guess that this keeps the public slightly happy that justice is being done and a pretence that corruption is being picked up on, I would not however be suprised if there is a political slush fund ready to pick up all their legal bills and fines along with a palacial prison for them if they actually get jail time, or a friendly doctor that gets them out due to medical reasons.

The one thing that is funny is that you have never ever seen a single EU commissioner get his time in court for anything, the French will soon lose their fun and games and the pretence that no one is above the law... EGALITE and all that!!!

Radio 4 six o'clock news informed us of how popular Chirac was in France - affectionately known as Chichi by the french people, apparently. My french is poor - is Chichi a colloquial term for merde?

Tory leader David Cameron will be announcing “within days” that he will not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty should his party win the next election, according to a Conservative Party-supporting newspaper.

Writing in tonight’s London Evening Standard, the political editor, Joe Murphy, says that “David Cameron is set to announce within days that he will not call a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if he takes power and it is already law.

“He is expected to sound a retreat on his ‘cast-iron guarantee’ only after the treaty has been ratified by Czech president Vaclav Klaus, the last European leader to hold out against it,” Mr Murphy wrote.

Mr Cameron’s sharp u-turn flies directly in the face of his strongly worded article published in The Sun newspaper of 26 September 2007 in which he solemnly vowed that he would hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

We should soon be finding out exactly why Chirac refused to debate with Jean-Marie Le Pen in the Presidential run-off in 2002. Le Pen would have stated to his face what the case against him will be. Pity it took so long.

Children, this is what happens from watching too many Sopranos reruns.