A court in France has suspended the corruption investigation against former President Nicolas Sarkozy, French media say.
Reports quote judicial sources as saying that Paris appeal court will now study a request by Mr Sarkozy for the case to be dismissed.
However, the 59 years old Sarkozy is not out of the woods yet as he still has several other judicial cases to answer.
Mr Sarkozy has kept a low profile since leaving office but Last week he declared his intention to seek the leadership of the opposition UMP party, a move widely seen as his first step towards a presidential bid in 2017.
His announcement ended months of speculation about the intentions of the conservative former president, who vowed to give up politics after he failed to re-election in 2012.
The UMP party elections are due to be held in November.
Although he has faced a series of investigations that involve him in some capacity
The suspended case relates to an alleged attempt to influence judges who were looking into his affairs.
The BBC quoted AFP report as saying that the suspension could last several months.