- Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy.
- Acquitted of corruption and illegal campaign financing charges.
- Ordered to pay a €100,000 fine.
- Case linked to alleged €50m in Libyan cash for 2007 campaign.
- Allies Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux also convicted.
- Sarkozy vows to appeal, calling the verdict politically motivated.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a five-year prison sentence after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a high-profile case tied to millions of euros allegedly funneled from late Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi.
The verdict, delivered Thursday, marks a historic moment in French politics: Sarkozy becomes the first former head of state in modern France to face actual prison time. Gasps were heard inside the courtroom as Judge Nathalie Gavarino read the decision.
Although acquitted of charges of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, the 70-year-old conservative leader was ordered to pay a €100,000 ($117,000, £87,000) fine.
The court determined that Sarkozy’s inner circle sought funds from Libyan officials to fuel his successful 2007 presidential campaign, though judges ruled there was insufficient proof he personally pocketed the money.
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, denounced the ruling as politically motivated. Outside the courthouse, he called the outcome “extremely serious for rule of law” and declared: “If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high.”
The case dates back to 2011, when Saif al-Islam, son of Gaddafi, alleged Sarkozy accepted millions in cash from Tripoli. In 2014, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine claimed to have written proof that up to €50 million was transferred to Sarkozy’s campaign, with payments continuing into his presidency.
Thursday’s ruling also implicated senior Sarkozy allies. Former interior minister Claude Gueant was convicted of corruption, while ex-minister Brice Hortefeux was found guilty of conspiracy. Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, faces separate charges of concealing evidence linked to the Libya affair, which she denies.
This conviction adds to a growing list of judicial setbacks for the former president. In 2021, Sarkozy was convicted of attempting to bribe a judge, receiving a custodial sentence later converted into home confinement with an electronic tag. Earlier this year, he was found guilty of overspending during his failed 2012 re-election campaign and sentenced to one year, with six months suspended.
Despite his repeated claims of innocence, Sarkozy’s legal troubles now place his political legacy under intense scrutiny.
According to BBC, his lawyers have confirmed he will appeal the Libya ruling, but under French law, the sentence must still be enforced in the interim, raising the prospect that a former president could soon be behind bars.
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