Former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been sentenced to five years in prison by a Paris court after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in connection with allegations that Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya helped finance his 2007 presidential campaign.
The court ruled on Thursday that Sarkozy’s sentence must be enforced even if he appeals, though he was acquitted on three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of embezzled public funds.
Judges said there was insufficient proof that Libyan funds directly reached his campaign or that he personally made a deal with Gaddafi.
Two of his former associates, Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, also received prison terms. Hortefeux was sentenced to two years, which may be served under house arrest, while Guéant received six years, with incarceration delayed for health reasons.
Sarkozy, 70, has denied wrongdoing and described the verdict as a “scandal.” He vowed to appeal, saying he was ready to serve his sentence but would do so “with my head held high.”
Prosecutors have one month to notify him of when he must begin serving the sentence.
The former president has faced several legal battles since leaving office.
In 2021, he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling in the so-called “wiretapping affair” and sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended.
Later that year, he was also found guilty of illegal campaign financing in connection with overspending during his failed 2012 re-election bid, receiving a one-year prison sentence. Both cases remain under appeal.
This latest ruling makes Sarkozy the first former French head of state in modern history to receive multiple prison sentences.
