Paris , France -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Former French President Jacques Chirac has been placed under investigation for allegations stemming from his time as mayor of Paris , his office said Friday . A judge in Nanterre , near Paris , questioned Chirac Friday morning over the employment of seven people who were hired by the city of Paris in the early 1990s . The suspicion is that the employees were working for Chirac 's right-wing political party , RPR , which no longer exists , while on the city payroll . Chirac , 77 , was mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995 , the year he became president . The case in Nanterre is similar to but separate from another investigation in Paris , in which Chirac is accused of using 21 city employees to work on his presidential campaign . In a statement released by his office Friday , Chirac pointed out that he had `` already answered all the questions related to this investigation regarding the seven jobs in July 2007 and that no new facts have surfaced since then . '' Chirac could face a five-year sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros -LRB- $ 107,500 -RRB- if found guilty of using the employees to work for his party . The former president denies the accusations . `` On the investigation itself , President Chirac repeats that no such ` system ' has ever existed in the Paris city hall , '' the statement said . `` He is determined to demonstrate this through the procedure which was started by being placed under investigation . '' The former French head of state also said he `` wishes the investigation to progress as quickly as possible to establish once and for all that he is beyond reproach . '' Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe was already sentenced in December 2004 for his role in the affair , but Chirac benefited from presidential immunity at the time . After Chirac left office in May 2007 , he made it known he was available to answer any questions on the matter . Current Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe had no comment about the investigation , according to officials with the city of Paris , which lodged the initial complaint against Chirac . The former president remains popular in France . A survey released Thursday , conducted by the opinion research company IFOP for Paris Match magazine , showed that 78 percent of French people have a positive opinion of Chirac -- making him the highest-rated politician since the survey began in November 2003 . CNN 's Luc Lacroix contributed to this report .