Sarkozy sues French ex-spy chief

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is taking legal action for libel and invasion of privacy against the former head of a French intelligence agency.

The move follows the publication of leaked extracts from diaries belonging to Yves Bertrand.

The extracts include unsubstantiated allegations about several leading politicians, including Mr Sarkozy.

Mr Bertrand's agency reports to the government on internal political issues and threats to domestic order.

However, it is clear from the contents of his notebooks that as head of a domestic intelligence agency, Mr Bertrand viewed his remit rather more broadly.

Published in Le Point news magazine, the private notebooks contain all sorts of tittle-tattle about the financial, sexual and personal