( CNN ) -- An investigative judge has placed former French President Nicolas Sarkozy under formal investigation for breach of trust , accusing him of taking advantage of elderly L'Oreal cosmetic heiress Liliane Bettencourt to help fund his 2007 campaign , Sarkozy 's attorney said , according to CNN affiliate BFM-TV . The former president was summoned to appear at Judge Jean-Michel Gentil 's office in Bordeaux on Thursday in a case in which he is suspected of accepting illegal contributions from Bettencourt and her staff , BFM-TV said . His lawyer , Thierry Herzog , said that he intends to appeal the ruling , according to BFM-TV . The Bettencourt scandal has fascinated France since questions about the finances of France 's richest woman emerged in 2011 amid a family feud . Although formal , the investigation of Sarkozy , 58 , is considered preliminary , and could lead to trial or may go no further . The son of a Hungarian refugee father and French mother , Sarkozy was 28 when he became mayor of Neuilly , a Paris suburb . He left that post in 2002 to serve as interior minister and then finance minister under President Jacques Chirac . ( Chirac was convicted in 2011 on corruption charges tied to his time as Paris mayor . ) Ten days after his runoff election win , Sarkozy became president in 2007 . He served in that capacity for the next five years , garnering praise for his work on foreign policy issues and criticism for his handling of domestic issues as France 's economy sputtered and unemployment rate hovered at about 10 % . In May 2012 , Francois Hollande beat Sarkozy in his bid to win a second term as president . And just over two months later -- one day after he and his family were set to head off to Canada for a vacation -- police raided his home and office as part of their investigation into possible illegal campaign financing , according to Herzog . `` It 's not a surprise , '' Christian Mallard , a senior foreign analyst for France Television , said at the time . After losing his re-election bid , Sarkozy `` was going to lose his diplomatic immunity , '' opening him up to potential prosecution . In fact , the probe appeared well under way by then . In September -- when Sarkozy was still president -- three investigators engaged in an hourlong search of his political party headquarters , seeking documents linking his campaign to the alleged political contributions from Bettencourt . Judge Jean-Michel Gentil questioned the former French leader in November for 12 hours concerning evidence given by Bettencourt 's former accountant , Claire Thibout , BFM-TV reported . Afterward , authorities said they 'd decided not to pursue a formal investigation of Sarkozy , but rather to treat him as what officials call a `` witness-under-caution . '' The phrase is a technical term that essentially allows a French magistrate to continue to call the ex-president to the witness stand . At the same time , it did n't close the door to Sarkozy facing criminal charges stemming from allegedly illicit campaign donations .
Sarkozy served as Canada 's president Two months . between 2007 and 2012 after he left that post , authorities raided his home and office . An investigative judge has placed him under formal investigation for breach of trust , his attorney says . Sarkozy is accused of taking advantage of an elderly BFM-TV heiress to fund a campaign .