A court case against the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has started in Paris. 

He is the first ex-French head of state to stand trial for corruption and faces charges of allegedly trying to bribe a magistrate to hand over recordings of conversations between him and his lawyer, Thierry Herzog. The phone had allegedly been tapped and the dialogue formed part of a long-running investigation into his party finances.
 

Sarkozy and Herzog deny the allegations of wrongdoing, but they could face 10 years in jail if found guilty. 

The former president won office in 2007, on a ticket of promising looser labor regulations and lower taxes. But he has been embroiled in a litany of legal woes since leaving the post. 

The court case that began on November 23 is centered on allegations that Sarkozy tried to bribe magistrate Gilbert Azibert in return for arranging a plush job for him in Monaco. 

Sarkozy faces separate allegations that executives at a public relations firm created fake invoices to mask overspending on his failed 2012 re-election bid. 

He could stand trial in that case early next year. 

There is also an ongoing investigation into his 2007 presidential campaign and allegations that it was backed by a nearly $60 million donation from the Gaddafi regime in Libya.

The 65-year-old says of the Libya allegations that his "innocence has again been disregarded by a decision that doesn't bring any evidence of any illicit financing."
 

Four years after taking power, Sarkozy, who claims he is a victim of a "plot" in this case, joined forces with the UK and the U.S. as part of a NATO-led military intervention in Libya. 

Sitting French presidents cannot be questioned as a witness, placed under formal investigation or charged. But Nicolas Sarkozy left office eight years ago, and former leaders can face the courts. 

"The head of state is not able to avoid the justice process, they are not above the law, they are just like anyone else," said Julie Gallois, from the Observatory of Public Ethics. 

"Our judicial system works and, also, citizens accept that they have to submit to the law and to judges if they are brought to trial." 

When Sarkozy came into power, he replaced outgoing president Jacques Chirac, who died last year. 

Sarkozy is only the second former French president to stand trial – Chirac was the first, and he was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2011 for diverting public funds and abusing public trust. 

Sarkozy is now fighting to clear his name with a string of allegations against him, one trial under way and another possible court case next year.