French ex-PM Édouard Balladur goes on trial over alleged kickbacks

Politician, 91, accused of financing failed 1995 presidential campaign with illegal kickbacks in Karachi affair'

Former French prime minister Edouard Balladur has gone on trial accused of financing his failed 1995 presidential campaign with illegal kickbacks from international arms deals.

The 91-year-old rightwing politician is the latest high-ranking French politician to find himself in the dock over the so-called Karachi affair that has poisoned the country's political life for more than 25 years.