Paris (AFP) - France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling, French prosecutors said Wednesday, a dramatic move in a criminal probe that could wreck his hopes of a political comeback.

The decision came after Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.

The right-wing leader had been detained at a police station in a Paris suburb over a suspected attempt to illegally influence judicial proceedings in one of a raft of colourful corruption cases he is implicated in.