Judge Drops Hammer On Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy In Case Linked To Libyan Dictator

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison after a Paris court ruled he conspired with Libya to finance his 2007 election campaign.

The court said Sarkozy struck a criminal deal to trade diplomatic favors for funding between 2005 and 2007, though he was cleared of separate charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of embezzled public funds, according to NBC News. The 70-year-old former president is set to begin his sentence even as he appeals, the Associated Press reported. (RELATED: Hey, I’m Walking Here! — Emmanuel Macron Gets Dose Of Big-American-City Living, Calls Trump For Help)

“If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison. But with my head held high. I am innocent. This injustice is a scandal,” Sarkozy said, according to the AP. “Should I appear in handcuffs before the Court of Appeal? Those who hate me this much think it’s humiliating for me. What they humiliated today is France.”

Gasps were heard in the courtroom when the sentence and $117,000 fine were announced, the BBC reported.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy with his wife Carla Bruni arrives for the verdict in his trial for illegal campaign financing from Libya for his successful 2007 presidential bid, at the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in Paris, on September 25, 2025. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

Saif al-Islam, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, accused Sarkozy in 2011 of taking millions from his father to fund the 2007 campaign. A year later, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine claimed he had written proof Sarkozy received about $58 million, the BBC reported.

The court said Sarkozy let his associates seek Libyan support to finance the campaign but found no evidence the money was ultimately used, according to NBC News.

Former ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux were also convicted of criminal association. Guéant received six years in prison, while Hortefeux was sentenced to two years under electronic monitoring, the AP reported.

Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was charged last year with allegedly hiding evidence and conspiring to commit fraud, the BBC separately reported.