Nicolas Sarkozy Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has received a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy as ruled by the Paris Judicial Court. Along with a €100,000 fine, the 70-year-old will be appealing the guilty verdict but is still expected to serve the jail term. The court found Sarkozy guilty of a scheme between 2005 and 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors. While he was acquitted of some charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, he was convicted of criminal association. This charge can lead to a maximum of 10 years in jail, though prosecutors had sought seven years. Sarkozy was found guilty alongside two former ministers from his time in office, Claude Gueant and Brice Hortefeux, who were also convicted of criminal association but acquitted of other charges. The court believed that the men conspired to seek Libyan funding for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign but was not convinced that Sarkozy himself put the scheme into action. Sarkozy, the first former French president found guilty of accepting illegal foreign funds, denied all allegations during his trial, which included 11 co-defendants. The accusations arose in 2011 when reports surfaced that the Libyan state had funneled millions of euros into Sarkozy’s campaign. Despite Sarkozy’s claims of innocence and the ongoing legal battles, the court rulings stand as a significant blow to the former president’s political legacy.