PARIS, July 17, 2008 (AFP) - A French journalist was charged Thursday for publishing photographs in a magazine of a new Renault car model after the automaker filed suit for industrial espionage, a judicial source said.

Bruno Thomas, 45, who works for the magazine Auto Plus, is accused of breach of trust, revealing manufacturing secrets and other charges in the case that dates back to last year.

Auto Plus ran a story and unpublished photos of a car model that was to be launched by Renault in three years, prompting the French carmaker to take legal action in July 2007.

Thomas was held for questioning on Tuesday as police searched the magazine's offices in Paris, seizing computer hard discs and photos.

The journalist was released on recognizance and lawyer Benjamin Lemoine said his client was 'stunned' by the charges. He faces a sentence of five years in jail if convicted.

A Renault employee suspected of helping Thomas obtain the photos was charged on Friday, according to judicial sources.

Culture Minister Christine Albanel said Wednesday she was uneasy with the arrest of the journalist for obtaining exclusive information on the car model.

'This entire affair appears to have been blown up,' said Auto Plus editor-in-chief Laurent Chiapello.

Thomas 'simply was doing his job, that is finding new information to better inform the reader.'

The head of the French association of car industry writers, Denis Astangeau, said the arrest of the journalist and search of the magazine's offices was tantamount to an 'inquisition.'

'We would think such judicial practices would be bygone,' he said.