Michel Neyret, 56, was the deputy police chief of Lyon and hailed for cutting drug crime and jewellery heists until his spectacular arrest in September last year.

Neyret faces dismissal from the police force and could be stripped of his pension rights by the committee.

Criminal charges against him are still pending.

Neyret put up a brave front as he arrived for the hearing telling reporters: "I am relatively okay."

The charismatic policeman was detained for eight months before being released in May. He has since kept a low profile, living quietly in the east of France where he has to report regularly to a police station.

Neyret is accused of accepting gifts and favours from members of the Lyon underworld in a scandal that came to light during phone taps into a drug trafficking case that led to the seizure of 110 kilogrammes (242 pounds) of cocaine in 2010.

He has admitted being "imprudent" in accepting lavish gifts including a luxury five-day holiday in Morocco and a €30,000($38,000) watch but has denied making money.