Paris, Nov. 19 : Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is to stand trial over an alleged smear campaign that he launched against Nicolas Sarkozy before he became the President of France.

De Villepin has been ordered to stand trial in a criminal court, reports The Telegraph.

De Villepin is accused of orchestrating the leak in 2004 of a faked list of account-holders at the Clearstream bank in Luxembourg, which included Sarkozy''s name.

The names were supposed to have benefited from illegal commissions from arms sales.