New blow for Sarkozy: French court says phone-tapping of ex-president, his lawyer was legal

FILE - In this March 24, 2015 file photo, former French President and conservative party UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy attends a meeting in Asnieres, outside Paris, France. The Paris appeals court has ruled Thursday May 7, 2015 that investigating judges didn't break any laws when they tapped conversations between former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer in connection with a probe into past campaign financing.(AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) (The Associated Press)

Thierry Herzog's lawyers Philippe-Dehapiot, left, and Paul Albert Iweins, right, arrive with Nicolas Sarkozy' lawyer Pierre Haik, center, at Paris court house Thursday May 7, 2015 for the ruling on the facts that judges didn’t break any laws when they wiretapped Nicolas Sarkozy in 2013-2014 . The Paris appeals court has ruled that investigating judges didn’t break any laws when they tapped conversations between former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog, in connection with a probe into past campaign financing. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (The Associated Press)

Nicolas Sarkozy' lawyer Pierre Haik, center, with at his side Thierry Herzog's lawyers Philippe-Dehapiot, right, and Paul Albert Iweins, left, addresses reporters at Paris court house Thursday May 7, 2015; after the Paris appeals court has ruled that investigating judges didn’t break any laws when they tapped conversations between former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog, in connection with a probe into past campaign financing. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (The Associated Press)

The Paris appeals court has ruled that investigating judges didn't break any laws when they tapped conversations between former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer in connection with a probe into past campaign financing.

The decision Thursday is a new blow to the conservative opposition leader as he eyes a 2017 presidential bid, because it allows investigations to resume.

Sarkozy is under preliminary charges for active corruption and influence-peddling based on information gleaned from the phone taps. He denies wrongdoing. It's among several legal cases he has faced since losing the presidency to Francois Hollande in 2012.

Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog had protested the phone taps, saying they breached lawyer-client privilege. The appeals court ruled in favor of investigators, according to Herzog's lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins.