PARIS (AFP) - A French court has ordered a trial for ex-prime minister Edouard Balladur over allegations that kickbacks from an arms deal with Pakistan helped fund his failed 1995 presidential bid, France's top prosecutor Francois Molins said on Tuesday (Oct 1).

Balladur, 90, will stand trial before the Court of Justice of the Republic, set up to try cases of current and former ministers. The claims came to light during an investigation into a 2002 bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, which targeted a bus transporting French engineers - allegedly in revenge for non-payment of bribes.