Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to 5 years in prison

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has received a five-year prison sentence in the case of alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The decision was handed down by a Paris court on 25 September 2025, Politico reported.

Sarkozy, now 70, became the first president of modern France to actually be sent to prison. Despite the right to appeal, Judge Nathalie Gavarino found the charges so serious that she ruled - the punishment should be real, not suspended.

Sarkozy was found guilty of participating in a criminal group but acquitted on corruption charges. The court found that his cronies and unofficial intermediaries in 2005-2007 negotiated with representatives of the Gaddafi regime and tried to obtain funding for the election campaign. The evidence included meetings with Libyan officials and attempts to transfer public funds.

However, as the court pointed out, it could not be proved that the money actually reached Sarkozy's election headquarters. Nor was it proven that he was personally involved in the implementation of the alleged deal with the Libyans, which could have been an exchange of funding for political concessions - in particular, the review of the case of Abdallah Senussi, the head of Libyan intelligence and Gaddafi's son-in-law, who was convicted in France for his role in the 1989 plane bombing that killed 170 people.

Immediately after the verdict was announced, Sarkozy left the courtroom accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni and three sons - Pierre, Jean and Louis. Despite the harsh verdict, the former president spoke to the press with restraint and said he would appeal, but emphasised:

"If I have to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison, but with my head held high. I am innocent. It's an injustice - and a scandal."

Carla Bruni, in turn, demonstrated her attitude to the investigation by pulling off the microphone the logo of the French publication Mediapart, which was the first to publish information about Sarkozy's possible links with the Gaddafi regime.

In addition to Sarkozy, 12 other people were tried in the case. Nine of them were found guilty, three were acquitted. Former Interior Minister Claude Guéant was also found guilty but released from prison for health reasons.

Despite numerous trials, including another corruption case in which Sarkozy has already exhausted his appeals, he remains an influential figure on the French right-wing scene. He met with new prime minister Sebastien Lecornuil in September and with the leader of the far-right Rassemblement Nationale, Jordaan Bardella, in August.

While an appeal could delay an actual prison sentence, today's court ruling is a landmark event in French political history, symbolising justice's rejection of the immunity of even the most senior politicians.