Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison for a scheme to finance his 2007 campaign with funds from Libya.
The Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy and ruled that Sarkozy will be incarcerated even if he appeals.
BREAKING: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy.https://t.co/27wjU4TuBv
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 25, 2025
CBS News reported:
“The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya, in exchange for diplomatic favors. It cleared him of three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds.”
Sarkozy protested his innocence and vowed to appeal.
“‘This injustice is a scandal’, he said. ‘I ask the French people — whether they voted for me or not, whether they support me or not — to grasp what has just happened. Hatred truly knows no bounds’, the former president said, adding that if he does end up behind bars, he’ll do so, ‘with my head held high’.”
Read: Marine Le Pen Will Come to Power, According to Nicolas Sarkozy
BREAKING: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy
He says the ruling undermines confidence in the French judicial system https://t.co/rcYSoxn36I
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 25, 2025
While the court believed Sarkozy and two of his ministers ‘conspired to seek Libyan funding for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign’, the judges don’t think he was directly involved in the funding effort, and also doubted ‘that any Libyan money ended up being used in his winning campaign’.
“The chief judge, in an hours-long reading of the lengthy verdict, said Sarkozy had allowed his close associates to reach out to Libyan authorities, ‘to obtain or try to obtain financial support in Libya for the purpose of securing campaign financing’.”
“I am innocent…I will not apologise for something I didn’t do”, says former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
The 70-year-old has been sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy for accepting millions of euros when he was French Interior… pic.twitter.com/NmLrIF2YLI
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) September 25, 2025
“Sarkozy stood as the judge read out the verdict. He was accompanied by his wife, singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, in the courtroom, which was also filled with reporters and members of the public. Sarkozy sat in the front row of the defendant’s section, and his three adult sons were also in the room.”
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