Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
In a stunning and historic decision, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to illegally finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi. The ruling marks the most severe criminal penalty ever handed down to a former French head of state in modern history.
Sarkozy, 70, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, was convicted by a Paris criminal court of criminal conspiracy related to a “corruption pact” involving senior Libyan officials. Although he was acquitted on the more serious charges of illegal campaign financing and passive corruption, the court found that Sarkozy and members of his inner circle actively sought illicit foreign financing in a scheme that, prosecutors argued, “undermined the integrity of French democracy.”
Presiding Judge Nathalie Gavarino delivered the ruling in a packed courtroom, calling the conspiracy “extremely serious,” and stating that it represented “corruption at the highest possible level.” She cited evidence that Sarkozy allowed top aides acting in his name and under his authority, to pursue financial support from the Libyan regime while he was mounting his presidential bid.
Though Sarkozy is expected to appeal, the court ruled that the prison sentence is to be enforced in the coming weeks regardless of any pending appeal, a rare and forceful move in French legal precedent.
“I Will Sleep in Prison With My Head High”
Sarkozy, visibly tense and flanked by his legal team and his wife, Carla Bruni, emerged from the courtroom to denounce the verdict.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison, but with my head high,” he told reporters. He described the ruling as a “scandal,” declaring, “Those who hate me so much think they are humiliating me, but they have humiliated France and its image.”
He reiterated his long-standing claim that the allegations are politically motivated, fueled by former Libyan officials seeking revenge after France’s central role in NATO’s 2011 military intervention in Libya—a campaign that ended with Qaddafi’s death and the collapse of his regime.
A Decade-Long Legal Saga
The trial marked the culmination of more than a decade of investigation. Prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy orchestrated a covert and illegal operation to channel millions of euros from Libya into his campaign coffers. These efforts allegedly included cash deliveries in suitcases, transfers through offshore accounts, and phony contracts.
While the court found insufficient proof that the money ultimately reached Sarkozy’s campaign account, French law allows for conspiracy convictions even if the criminal act was not completed. The court determined that the planning and solicitation of foreign funds alone constituted a criminal conspiracy.
Among the seven other defendants convicted alongside Sarkozy were Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux—two of his closest political allies and former interior ministry officials. Both were found to have personally met with senior Libyan operatives, including Qaddafi’s brother-in-law, Abdullah Senoussi, in the months leading up to Sarkozy’s campaign.
At the time, Libya was seeking to normalize its relations with the West, and Sarkozy was positioning himself as a strong candidate without a clear guarantee of financial backing from his party. Prosecutors argued that this created a motive for turning to foreign, and ultimately illegal, sources of funding.
Judge Gavarino noted that there was credible evidence that Libyan money flowed into France in 2006, though the specific trail of the funds was “opaque.” The court stopped short of confirming that Sarkozy personally struck a deal with Qaddafi, but it found that he allowed a “network of influence” under his control to pursue the arrangement on his behalf.
Multiple Convictions, Mounting Legal Troubles
This latest conviction adds to Sarkozy’s growing list of legal woes. In 2021, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for attempting to bribe a judge in exchange for information about a separate legal case. That sentence one year under house arrest with an electronic bracelet was upheld on appeal.
That same year, he was also convicted of violating France’s strict campaign finance laws during his failed 2012 re-election bid. Prosecutors revealed that his campaign exceeded the legal spending limit by millions of euros. That case remains under appeal.
Sarkozy has now been convicted in three separate criminal cases since leaving office, and in 2023 he was stripped of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest civilian award.
His supporters argue that Sarkozy has been unfairly targeted by political enemies and holdovers from rival administrations. But critics say his convictions reflect a troubling pattern of unethical behavior and a willingness to circumvent democratic norms for political advantage.
A Fall From Power and Grace
Sarkozy was once regarded as the embodiment of a tough-on-crime, pro-business political style that energized France’s conservative movement. His meteoric rise to power was matched only by his dramatic fall.
Until recently, he remained a respected figure on the political right, even flirting with a potential return to public life. But Thursday’s verdict could finally end any lingering political ambitions.
“This is a historic decision,” said Sandra Cossart, director of Sherpa, an anti-corruption NGO and one of the plaintiffs in the case. “It marks the end of a certain way of doing politics in France. For too long, white-collar crime has gone unpunished at the highest levels.”
Sarkozy is now the second former French president to be convicted in a court of law, following Jacques Chirac’s 2011 conviction for misusing public funds during his tenure as mayor of Paris. But if Sarkozy serves time behind bars, he will become the first to ever do so.
Whether the former president ultimately ends up in a prison cell or serves his sentence under modified conditions remains to be seen. French law permits those over the age of 70 to request conditional parole or serve time under electronic monitoring, but such alternatives are not guaranteed.
Still, the symbolism of the verdict is inescapable: A man who once presided over France’s justice system now finds himself subject to it.
