Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy linked to efforts to secure campaign funds from Libya. The 70-year-old, who led France from 2007 to 2012, will soon become the first former French leader to serve actual jail time.
The ruling, delivered by a Paris court on Thursday, shocked many observers with its severity. Sarkozy, visibly shaken as he left the courtroom, denounced the decision as “scandalous” and vowed to appeal. “If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high,” he said, insisting on his innocence.
Judges ruled Sarkozy conspired with aides between 2005 and 2007—while he was interior minister—to approach Libyan officials for illegal campaign funding. Although the court found no proof that Muammar Gaddafi’s regime directly bankrolled his successful 2007 bid, it said Sarkozy had allowed his inner circle to pursue the funds, constituting criminal conspiracy.
The sentence is enforceable immediately. Sarkozy has only a short period to settle his personal affairs before being called to prison, likely within a month.
This marks yet another blow in a series of legal defeats for the former president. Last year, he was handed convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and illegal campaign financing tied to his 2012 re-election bid. His Legion of Honour was also stripped in June.
Despite his mounting legal woes, Sarkozy remains a heavyweight in French politics. He has recently been in contact with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and even praised Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally as part of France’s “republican arc.”
Le Pen, herself convicted in March of embezzling EU funds, quickly weighed in on the ruling, warning that immediate sentences without appeal posed a “grave danger” to democracy.
For Sarkozy, however, the danger is personal and imminent—he is heading for jail.
