A French judge has ordered ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to stand trial in an illegal campaign finance case.

Sarkozy faces accusations that his party falsified accounts in order to hide 18M euros (£15m; $20m) of campaign spending in 2012, reports the BBC.

Sarkozy denies he was aware of the overspending and will appeal against the order to stand trial.

He lost the 2012 race and failed in his bid to run again in this year’s upcoming presidential election.

BDST: 2115 HRS, FEB 07, 2017
SR