A French court was expected to deliver its verdict Friday in the trial of a man accused of trying to shoot President Jacques Chirac as he rode by in an open car during the July 2002 national Bastille Day parade. Maxime Brunerie, 27, told the court this week that he wanted to assassinate Chirac on Paris' famed Champs-Elysees avenue on July 14, 2002, so he would go down in history with a "shocking" act. At the trial, which began on Monday, a police investigator and others testified that Brunerie _ who had joined several extreme-right groups _ was deeply troubled and may have been motivated by thoughts of suicide. Defense lawyers argued Brunerie has psychological problems and deserves treatment rather than a criminal conviction. If convicted, he faces up to life imprisonment.
