Around the World: France

Prosecutor to appeal ruling

French justice authorities will appeal the judgment clearing former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin of involvement in a plot to smear his former rival Nicolas Sarkozy, the Paris state prosecutor said on Friday. The decision opens the way to a second episode of the so-called "Clearstream trial", in which Villepin was accused of trying to sabotage Sarkozy's bid to win the presidency in 2007.

Speaking minutes after Paris prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin said there would be a second trial either at the end of this year or the start of 2011. Villepin launched a bitter attack on Sarkozy, whom he accused of pursuing a vendetta.