PARIS, France – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a long-running case over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign.
The 70-year-old, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was acquitted of other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.
However, Judge Nathalie Gavarino ruled that Sarkozy knowingly allowed close aides to solicit financial support from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, describing the conspiracy as a direct attack on France’s democratic institutions.
The court also imposed a €100,000 ($117,000) fine on Sarkozy. Gasps were heard in the courtroom as the sentence was delivered, with the ruling making him the first former French head of state likely to serve time behind bars.
Sarkozy, who insists the prosecution was politically motivated, immediately announced plans to appeal.
“What happened today is of extreme gravity in regard to the rule of law, and for the trust one can have in the justice system,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. “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 2013, when Libyan officials and intermediaries accused Sarkozy of receiving millions of euros from Gaddafi to bankroll his rise to the Élysée Palace.
Prosecutors alleged that in exchange, Sarkozy pledged to help rehabilitate the Libyan dictator’s global image.
While the court ruled there was insufficient evidence that Sarkozy directly pocketed the funds, it concluded that he conspired with close allies to secure the money.
Among those convicted alongside him were former interior ministers Claude Guéant, found guilty of corruption, and Brice Hortefeux, convicted of criminal conspiracy.
Sarkozy’s wife, singer and former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, also faces charges in connection with the affair, accused of hiding evidence—a charge she denies.
The ruling adds to the former president’s growing list of legal troubles. He was convicted in 2021 of attempting to bribe a judge, becoming the first ex-French leader to receive a custodial sentence.
In 2024, he was handed another one-year term for campaign overspending, though most of it was suspended.
With Thursday’s verdict, Sarkozy now faces the prospect of prison rather than serving his time under electronic monitoring—a dramatic fall for a man once seen as one of Europe’s most powerful leaders.
