former president Nicolas Sarkozy France went on trial in Paris on Monday over allegations that his 2007 campaign was illegally financed by the Libyan government of Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi.

The trial, which is expected to last three months, is far from the first for Sarkozy, 69, a conservative politician who led France from 2007 to 2012, but represents one of the most serious legal threats against the French politician since he left office.

Just last month Mr. Sarkozy has exhausted his last appeal in a separate case of corruption and influence peddlingmaking him the first former French president to be sentenced to actual detention, although he will serve his sentence under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.

But of all the legal cases against Mr Sarkozy, the Libyan one is among the most widespread, intricate and explosive. It includes allegations that his campaign illegally received huge sums of money from Colonel Qaddafi, the former Libyan strongman who was killed by opposition fighters in 2011.

Mr Sarkozy, who has denied wrongdoing, could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of almost $400,000.