Jacques Chirac dismisses dementia 'lie' and insists he can stand trial

Former French president Jacques Chirac has denied rumours he may be too feeble to stand trial for alleged corruption during his reign as Paris mayor as a court ruled the hearing will begin as scheduled, on 7 March.

The trial will centre on Chirac's alleged role in two phony jobs schemes aimed at filling the coffers of the conservative party he founded, the Rally for the Republic, during his marathon stint as Paris mayor from 1977 to 1995.

Chirac was president from 1995 to 2007, when president Nicolas Sarkozy took office.

The former president has denied any wrongdoing but cut a deal to pay back to the city €2.2 million (1.9m) in salaries paid out for non-existent jobs. The court ruled yesterday that they will review a request to annul that deal during the trial.

Meanwhile, Chirac denied a report that he might be suffering from Alzheimer's disease. "Do I give the impression of not doing well? I'm doing fine," Chirac, 78, told BFM-TV.

Earlier, his wife Bernadette described the report, in the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, as "a lie".

She told Europe-1 radio that her husband has occasional memory problems and some hearing and walking difficulties, but wants to be treated like any other citizen by the court.

He "should be treated no better but also no worse than any other" during his trial, she said.

Chirac gave a hearty wave before ducking into a car, and advised the journalists against staying outside. "It's cold," he said.