Ms Deviers-Joncour: Said to earn money for a fictitious job

On day three of the courtroom drama that has been gripping France, Roland Dumas turned from dapper ex-barrister to emotional defendant.

Giving evidence for the first time, the former foreign minister said it was heartbreaking for him to be on trial at the end of a life which had begun with sadness.

He was referring to the death of his father at the hands of the Nazis.

Expensive gifts

In a trembling voice, Mr Dumas said that being dishonoured now would be unbearable and denied using his influence to get a job for his former mistress, Christine Deviers-Joncour.

The prosecution alleges that he benefited from some of the $9m she was paid by the then state-owned Elf oil company, most of it in the form of expensive gifts, including shoes and antique statues.

On Tuesday Ms Deviers-Joncour broke down in tears after she was accused in court of receiving money for a non-existent job.

One of the other defendants in the case, a former president of Elf, said he could not explain why she had been on the payroll.

The 53-year-old former lingerie model maintains that she was paid by the company to lobby Mr Dumas over the sale of French frigates to Taiwan.

The trial is expected to continue for another three weeks.