Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy did not show up for his second criminal trial in six months, in a case where judges will scrutinise whether he deliberately broke campaign spending limits in his failed 2012 re-election bid.

French investigators say Sarkozy ignored accountants' warnings as his relentless campaigning racked up costs of at least €42.8m, or about twice as much as was legally allowed. The former head of state is expected to testify last of all the defendants, and faces a maximum one-year jail term...

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