PARIS – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday after a Paris criminal court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a scheme involving illegal campaign financing from late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid.
The 70-year-old rightwinger, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, will become the first French postwar leader to serve jail time. The court ordered that Sarkozy be placed in custody at a later date, with prosecutors set to inform him on 13 October when he must report to prison.
Sarkozy appeared ashen-faced and shaken as the verdict was read in court, where he was accompanied by his wife, model and musician Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and his three sons. Despite the conviction, he was acquitted of corruption charges and personally accepting illegal campaign financing.
Appeal filed immediately
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, a defiant Sarkozy vowed to appeal the decision, with his lawyer Christophe Ingrain later confirming an appeal had been filed. Sarkozy will serve his sentence while awaiting the outcome of his appeal.
“This injustice is a scandal,” Sarkozy declared outside the courtroom. “This verdict is extremely serious for the rule of law. I will sleep in prison with my head held high.”
In a dramatic display of the family’s anger, Bruni-Sarkozy snatched away the microphone muffler of the Mediapart news website, which had published the first revelations about the case.
‘Faustian pact’ with dictator
Prosecutors argued that Sarkozy and his aides struck a deal with Kadhafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious presidential campaign. The public prosecutor accused Sarkozy of entering into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.”
Investigators believe that in return for the funding, Kadhafi was promised assistance in restoring his international image after Libya was blamed by the West for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and a 1989 plane bombing over Niger that killed hundreds.
Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offenses as having “exceptional gravity.”
Co-defendants also sentenced
The court also sentenced other key figures in the scheme. Alexandre Djouhri, accused of serving as an intermediary, received six years and was ordered to be immediately arrested. Sarkozy’s former right-hand man Claude Gueant was sentenced to six years, while ex-minister Brice Hortefeux received two years.
Due to health considerations, the 80-year-old Gueant will not go to prison, while 67-year-old Hortefeux will be able to serve his term with an electronic tag. Hortefeux told BFMTV he was “angry” at the sentence.
Eric Woerth, who served as Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign treasurer, was acquitted of all charges.
Key witness dies before verdict
The judgment came just two days after the death in Beirut of Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a crucial figure in the case. The 75-year-old had claimed he helped deliver up to five million euros in cash from Kadhafi to Sarkozy and his chief of staff in 2006 and 2007.
Takieddine later retracted his claims before contradicting his own retraction, leading to the opening of another case against both Sarkozy and Bruni-Sarkozy on suspicion of pressuring a witness.
Historical significance
Sarkozy becomes the first French leader to face incarceration since Philippe Petain, the Nazi collaborationist head of France’s Vichy regime, who was jailed after World War II.
The former president has already faced consequences beyond the legal system, including losing his Legion of Honour – France’s highest distinction – following a previous graft conviction. This marks his third criminal conviction, though he previously avoided jail time, serving one sentence with an electronic tag.
Political support remains
Despite his legal troubles, Sarkozy continues to wield considerable influence within France’s conservative movement. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who leads Sarkozy’s right-wing Republicans party, expressed his “full support and friendship,” adding he had “no doubt” the former president would “devote all his energy” to defending himself on appeal.
Sarkozy has occasionally met privately with current President Emmanuel Macron and maintains popularity among segments of the French right.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a €100,000 (more than R 2 million) fine and banned Sarkozy from holding public office.
