Chirac Is Immune From Investigation, Court Says

France’s highest court declared President Jacques Chirac immune from investigation in a clutch of sleaze scandals--a landmark ruling that in effect cleared his way to run for a second term.

The court decreed that a head of state’s near-blanket immunity while in office is a fundamental pillar of the French Constitution.

Chirac has persistently denied involvement in alleged graft at Paris City Hall while he was mayor from 1977 to 1995 and refused to appear before anti-corruption investigators who have sought to question him in three inquiries.