[Al Arabiya Latest] Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin was acquitted Thursday on charges of plotting a smear campaign against long-time rival Nicolas Sarkozy to sabotage his presidential bid.The court ruled there were no grounds to convict the 56-year-old politician of complicity to slander Sarkozy in 2004, when the two men were angling to succeed president Jacques Chirac.
The acquittal was an outright victory for Villepin and a slap for Sarkozy who had reportedly vowed to hang those responsible for the scandal by a "butcher's hook."