Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday became the first former French president to be taken into formal custody as he was detained for questioning in an influence-peddling probe.

Sarkozy turned himself in, arriving at a police station in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre around 8 am in a black car with tinted windows.

He can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours, with a possible extension of another day. He must then be brought before a judge to be charged or be released.