The prosecutor's office in the French capital, Paris, has recommended that the former foreign minister, Roland Dumas, face trial on corruption charges.

Several others are also cited in the recommendation including the former lover of Mr Dumas, Christine Deviers-Joncour.

It's been alleged that Mr Dumas benefitted from payments of around ten million dollars made by the French oil firm Elf-Aquitaine to Mrs Deviers-Joncour in an attempt to buy political influence. He's also accused of having used his influence to facilitate the sale of six frigates to Taiwan. Mr Dumas has always denied the charges.

The final decision on whether to begin legal proceedings rests with the examining magistrates, but our Paris correspondent says the case could be complicated by a separate court ruling on procedural problems during the investigation. The scandal forced Mr Dumas to step down from his post as the president of the constitutional court -- the fifth highest state post -- last March.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service