PARIS (BN24) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a long-running investigation into alleged illicit campaign financing from Libya’s late leader, Muammar Gaddafi.
A Paris criminal court ruled Thursday that Sarkozy, 70, conspired with associates to solicit millions of euros from the Gaddafi regime to fund his successful 2007 presidential campaign. The court acquitted him of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing but found sufficient evidence to convict him of criminal conspiracy, handing down a custodial sentence and a €100,000 ($117,000) fine.
Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has consistently denied wrongdoing and denounced the charges as politically motivated. Following the verdict, he called the ruling “extremely serious for the rule of law” and confirmed plans to appeal. However, under French law, the five-year sentence remains enforceable during the appeal process, meaning Sarkozy could soon become the first former president in modern French history to serve jail time.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high,” Sarkozy said outside the courthouse.
The dramatic conclusion to the high-profile trial marks a stunning reversal for the former president, once seen as a dominant figure in French and European politics. During the hearing, presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy knowingly allowed key aides to establish contact with Libyan officials to secure financial backing. However, the court did not find enough evidence proving that Sarkozy directly received or benefited from the funds.
The case stems from allegations first raised in 2011 by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan dictator. He accused Sarkozy of accepting millions in undeclared cash to fund his presidential bid. A year later, Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, long linked to arms deals and Franco-Arab ties, claimed he had documentary evidence of €50 million in payments from Tripoli to Sarkozy’s campaign — claims that sparked a decade-long investigation.
While Sarkozy avoided conviction on the campaign finance charge, two of his former cabinet members were not spared. Claude Guéant, Sarkozy’s former interior minister and close confidant, was found guilty of corruption. Another former minister, Brice Hortefeux, was convicted of criminal conspiracy.
Sarkozy’s legal woes extend beyond the Libya case. In February 2024, he was found guilty of overspending in his 2012 re-election campaign and using a public relations firm to cover it up. He received a one-year sentence, with six months suspended. In 2021, he became the first former French president convicted of attempting to bribe a judge and was allowed to serve that sentence under house arrest with an electronic tag.
Adding to the legal drama, his wife, Italian-born singer and former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was charged in 2024 with concealing evidence and associating with individuals involved in the Gaddafi case. She has denied all charges.
While Sarkozy’s lawyers prepare their appeal, the court’s ruling has already sent shockwaves through France’s political landscape, marking another chapter in the fall of a once-powerful figure now facing the reality of incarceration.
