HOPEFULLY ABBE FARIA WON'T BE IN THE NEXT CELL:

Chirac under formal investigation for 'embezzlement' (James Sturcke, November 21, 2007, The Guardian)

A judge today placed the former French president Jacques Chirac under formal investigation for the suspected embezzlement of public funds - an unprecedented move for a former head of state in France.

Chirac, who stepped down as president in May, was questioned for a second time today in connection with an investigation into a fake jobs scam dating from his time as the mayor of Paris.

The ex-president's lawyer, Jean Veil, said he was then placed under formal investigation.

In July, Chirac was interviewed by Judge Alain Philibeaux as a material witness which, under French law, put his status between that of a witness and a suspect.

The change of his status to being under formal investigation brings him a step closer to being charged.