France’s Former President Nicolas Sarkozy Sent to Jail Over Libyan Campaign Funding Scandal
France’s former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will begin serving a prison sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of criminal conspiracy for allegedly securing illegal campaign funding from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during his 2007 presidential run.
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, becomes the first former head of an EU country to be jailed. He has denounced the verdict as an “injustice” and has appealed the ruling.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison but with my head held high,” Sarkozy told reporters after the September 25 judgment.
He is expected to be detained at La Santé Prison in Paris, reportedly in a nine-square-metre solitary cell, to prevent contact or photos with other inmates.
Presiding Judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offences as being of “exceptional gravity”, ordering incarceration even pending appeal. Sarkozy’s lawyers are expected to immediately request his release, with the appeals court given two months to decide whether he remains in custody or is placed under home arrest with an ankle tag.
Sarkozy, now 70, has faced multiple legal troubles since leaving office. He previously served a graft sentence under electronic monitoring and was stripped of France’s highest honour, the Legion of Honour, following that conviction.
In the current case, prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy’s aides negotiated a secret deal with Gaddafi’s regime to finance his 2007 campaign in exchange for restoring Libya’s international reputation. Although the court found him guilty of conspiracy, he was acquitted of corruption, embezzlement, and illicit campaign financing charges.
Public reaction in France has been mixed a poll by Elabe found that 60% of respondents considered the prison sentence fair. Meanwhile, Sarkozy’s son, Louis Sarkozy, has called on supporters to gather outside his father’s residence in solidarity.
The presiding judge has since received death threats, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to condemn the attacks as “unacceptable.”
La Santé Prison, one of France’s most notable facilities, has held several high-profile inmates, including the Venezuelan militant Carlos the Jackal and French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein who was found dead in his cell in 2022.
