Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after being found guilty in a corruption case tied to alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign.

According to the Daily Mail, Sarkozy, 70, was convicted by a Paris court of criminal conspiracy but acquitted on charges of corruption and illegal campaign financing. Prosecutors had sought a harsher penalty of seven years.

The sentence marks the first time a former French leader has been convicted over ties to foreign campaign support. Sarkozy entered the courtroom alongside his wife, Carla Bruni, who looked visibly shaken as the ruling was delivered.

Sarkozy lashes out at ruling

Sarkozy called the decision “extremely serious for the rule of law” and immediately announced plans to appeal. He said he would “sleep in prison with [his] head held high,” insisting the case was politically motivated.

Paris Judge Nathalie Gavarino concluded that Sarkozy allowed his associates to seek money from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. French prosecutors now have one month to set the date for when he must report to prison, sparing him immediate custody.

The former president was accused of benefiting from tens of millions in illicit campaign funds provided when Gaddafi was seeking to rebuild ties with the West. Sarkozy has categorically denied knowledge of any such transaction.

Decade-long investigation into Libya ties

The case originated in 2011 after reports from a Libyan news outlet and Gaddafi himself suggested millions had been funneled into Sarkozy’s campaign. The following year, French investigative site Mediapart published a purported Libyan intelligence memo detailing a €50 million arrangement.

Sarkozy dismissed the document as a forgery, and he filed a defamation case, which ultimately failed. French magistrates later stated the memo appeared to be genuine, though conclusive proof of money transfers never emerged.

The three-month trial also examined testimonies from Sarkozy’s inner circle, including alleged suitcase cash deliveries by Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who later retracted his claims before his recent death in Beirut.

Other legal troubles continue to mount

Sarkozy has been embroiled in several scandals since leaving office in 2012. He was previously convicted in 2021 for trying to bribe a magistrate, a case that resulted in a one-year home detention monitored with an ankle bracelet.

He also received a conviction for overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign, which led to a suspended sentence that remains under appeal before France’s highest court. In June, he was stripped of the Legion of Honor, the country’s top distinction.

Separately, Sarkozy and Bruni face preliminary charges in a separate investigation into witness tampering related to Takieddine’s retracted testimony, though that case has yet to go to trial.

Why This Story Matters

Sarkozy’s conviction challenges long-standing assumptions about the invincibility of political elites and raises serious concerns about foreign influence in national elections. It broadens the global conversation about election integrity and the role of international money in democratic processes. The result may change how France regulates campaign funding and holds politicians accountable. It also affects public trust in leadership and signals that powerful figures can—and should—face consequences.

Conclusion

On Thursday, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years behind bars for enabling aides to seek finances from Libya for his 2007 presidential campaign. Though acquitted of separate allegations of corruption and illicit fundraising, the guilty verdict marks a milestone in postwar French legal history.

The case, born from post-Gaddafi allegations, included conflicting witness testimony, global intrigue, and a long legal process. Sarkozy has vowed to appeal and maintains his innocence, though he faces additional legal issues and public scrutiny. In court, he stood beside his wife and sons, defiant amid the outcome, as the nation responded to this rare reckoning for one of its former heads of state.