Mr de Villepin is accused of having asked the officer two years ago to secretly investigate alleged dealings by Mr Sarkozy, which linked him to receiving kickbacks from the 1991 frigates sale.
Different reports give differing numbers, but from what I can gather the following ships are involved: the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, the frigates Yaroslav Mudry and Smetlivy, and three large landing craft carrying a contingent of marines.