Gambiaj.com – (PARIS, France) – A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a landmark trial over accusations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi helped finance his 2007 presidential campaign.
Sarkozy, 70, was acquitted of corruption, concealment of embezzlement of Libyan public funds, and illegal campaign financing.
However, presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino told the court that, as minister and leader of the center-right UMP party at the time, Sarkozy “allowed his close associates and political supporters – over whom he had authority and who were acting on his behalf – to approach the Libyan authorities” to seek or attempt to secure financial support for the 2007 campaign.
Despite the guilty verdict on criminal conspiracy, the court ordered that Sarkozy be placed in custody at a later date. Prosecutors have been given one month to notify the former head of state when he should report to prison.
“I will sleep in prison with my head held high,” Sarkozy told reporters after announcing that he will appeal against the decision, which remains in force during the appeal process.
The court rejected the case made by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office that Sarkozy had personally benefited from corruption through Libyan funds. “For the court, the material elements have not been established that a corruption offence has been committed,” Judge Gavarino said.
Allies Also Convicted in a String of Judicial Setbacks
Two of Sarkozy’s closest allies were also sentenced in the case. Claude Guéant, his former chief of staff, was found guilty of passive corruption and forgery, while Brice Hortefeux, a former interior minister, was convicted of criminal conspiracy. Eric Woerth, treasurer of Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign, was acquitted.
The court also confirmed that charges against Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a central figure in the case, had been dropped following his death in Lebanon earlier this week. Prosecutors had argued that Sarkozy, in return for illicit funding, helped reintegrate Kadhafi’s Libya into the international fold.
Thursday’s ruling adds to a litany of legal challenges for Sarkozy since leaving office in 2012. In 2021 he became the first French president since World War II to be sentenced to jail, receiving a one-year term for corruption, which he served under house arrest with an electronic tag.
He was also convicted in the so-called Bygmalion affair over overspending during his failed 2012 re-election bid, a ruling that was later partially upheld on appeal.
Despite his judicial troubles, Sarkozy has retained influence within France’s right-wing politics and continues to offer counsel to President Emmanuel Macron.
Nicknamed the “hyper-president” for his high-energy style, Sarkozy remains a polarizing figure: critics say years of trials and corruption claims have tarnished his legacy, while supporters argue he is the target of a relentless campaign to remove him from public life.
Thursday’s verdict is unlikely to be the last chapter. Sarkozy is pursuing multiple appeals, and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has herself been charged with witness tampering in a related case.
