Ex-president Chirac faces trial over 'ghost jobs'

PARIS: Former French president Jacques Chirac is to be tried on allegations that he gave 21 political allies false contracts as ghost workers in Paris city hall, his office announced on Friday.

The office of the 76-year-old Gaullist - who is once more France's most popular politician two-and-half years after he left office - said he was "calm and determined" to prove his innocence.

Before serving as president, Chirac was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995, and stands accused of using the city pay roll to provide salaries for aides who were in reality working for his right-wing political party.