Chirac "deeply hurt" by conviction, but will not appeal Adds: Chirac will not appeal

Dec 15, 2011, 19:29 GMT

Paris - Former French president Jacques Chirac continued to maintain his innocence Thursday after being convicted earlier in the day of embezzlement, but said he would not appeal the verdict.

A criminal court in Paris handed Chirac a two-year suspended sentence after finding him guilty of misusing public funds and abusing public trust when he was mayor of Paris in the early 1990s.

The 79-year-old statesman, who was excused from attending his trial because of his failing health, was not in court for the verdict.

His lawyer, Jean Veil, told BFM television that the conviction 'deeply hurt him' but that Chirac did not have the energy to appeal.

BFM quoted a statement from Chirac as 'categorically' rejecting the verdict, but also saying he would not fight it.

Chirac was found guilty of putting members of his Rally for the Republic Party (RPR) - forerunner of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement - on the Paris city payroll, without them doing any work for the city. Twenty of the 28 hires were declared bogus.

At the time Chirac was preparing to run for president. The fake jobs are suspected of having been used to channel public funds into RPR coffers.

French opposition politicians and anti-corruption campaigners on Thursday welcomed the verdict in the first trial of a former French head of state.

Jerome Karsenti, a lawyer for the anti-corruption lobby group Anticor, which lobbied for Chirac to be brought to justice, said the decision was 'proof of a mature, transparent democracy.'

The presidential candidate of the opposition Socialists, Francois Hollande, also said justice had been served and called for a debate on presidential immunity.

President Nicolas Sarkozy merely said he had 'noted' the ruling and emphasized Chirac's 'constant commitment in service of France,' which he said 'had earned him and would continue to earn him the regard of the French.'

Reacting to the ruling during a visit to Brazil, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said he believed it was 'coming too late.'

Seven of Chirac's nine co-defendants were also convicted. Six were given suspended sentences of between two and four months.

The case was seen as a test for the independence of the French judiciary after state prosecutors - instead of pressing for a conviction, as might have been expected - sensationally called for a not-guilty verdict.

Their stance drew derision from French media and fuelled suspicion of political interference, particularly given that the case against Chirac looked strong.

The elderly ex-leader had personally helped the ruling UMP repay the city of Paris for the amount of the lost salaries - a gesture seen as tantamount to an admission of wrongdoing.

Chirac's lawyer Georges Kiejman noted the 'great moderation of the court,' which, in passing sentence, took into account Chirac's age, declining health and the fact that he did not himself profit financially from the misappropriated municipal funds.

But Chirac's adopted daughter, Anh Dao Traxel, found the verdict 'too, too severe.'

The allegations against Chirac first arose while he was president between 1995 and 2007 and, as such, immune from prosecution under French law.

The trial finally went ahead in September after years of delays. But public interest petered out once it became clear Chirac himself would never have to take to the stand.

On the opening day of the trial, Chirac's lawyers produced a neurologist's report, showing that he suffers from memory lapses.

In recent public appearances he has appeared weak and disoriented.