Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 100,000 euros by a Paris criminal court on Thursday for conspiring to illegally obtain campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. This unprecedented ruling in French modern political history immediately takes effect, meaning that the former head of state will have to go to jail within a month to serve his sentence even if he appeals.
Although Sarkozy faced multiple charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, the court only found him guilty of conspiring with his staff between 2005 and 2007 to seek funding from the Libyan government. The judges pointed out that there was no concrete evidence showing that the funds directly entered Sarkozy’s accounts, but he was aware of and allowed his staff to engage with Libya, constituting a criminal conspiracy.
Sarkozy, who was elected president in 2007, allegedly received up to 50 million euros in Libyan funds during his campaign that year. The investigation into this case was launched in 2013, based on testimony from Gaddafi’s son Saif and Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, among others.
The 70-year-old Sarkozy, visibly emotional outside the courtroom, stated, “If they insist that I sleep in jail tonight, I will go, but I will go with my head held high.” He vehemently proclaimed his innocence and described the verdict as “extremely serious for the rule of law.”
In addition to the five-year prison term, Sarkozy was also ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 euros. According to the ruling, he must report to serve his sentence within a month, with no possibility of a suspension even if he appeals. He could become the first former French president to actually serve time in prison.
Apart from this case, Sarkozy still faces several pending legal battles. In 2021, he was convicted of attempting to bribe a judge, and last year he was convicted and is currently appealing on charges of overspending in the 2012 election. Furthermore, his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is also facing prosecution for allegedly tampering with evidence related to the case, although she denies all accusations.
Despite his legal troubles, Sarkozy still wields some influence in French politics. Recently, he met with his protege Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and openly endorsed the far-right National Rally, stating that it “has become part of the republican system.”
(This article is compiled from reports by Reuters and the BBC)