A Paris court has convicted former French President Nicolas Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy in a long-running scandal tied to his 2007 election campaign. The ruling, handed down on Thursday, September 25, stems from allegations that Sarkozy accepted illegal funding from Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi to help win that election.
Judges cleared Sarkozy on related charges of passive corruption, embezzlement of Libyan public funds, and illegal campaign financing. They focused the guilty verdict on his role in a shadowy group that plotted corruption schemes between 2005 and 2007. The court hasn’t announced a sentence yet, and Sarkozy, now 70, can appeal the decision, which would pause any punishment until a higher court rules.
This marks a historic moment: Sarkozy becomes the first former French president convicted of such a serious crime. Prosecutors argued during the three-month trial earlier this year that he secretly funneled millions of euros from Gaddafi’s regime into his campaign. Sarkozy strongly denied it, telling the court in January, “You will never find one Libyan euro, one Libyan cent in my campaign.” He blasted the accusations as a “plot” from “groups of liars and crooks,” pointing fingers at the “Gaddafi clan.”
Sarkozy even questioned the timing of key evidence from Libya, noting it surfaced right after he publicly called for Gaddafi’s ouster. “What credibility can be given to such statements marked by the seal of vengeance?” he asked the judges.
The case first blew up in 2011 when a Libyan news agency claimed Gaddafi’s government bankrolled Sarkozy’s bid for the presidency. At the time, Sarkozy was one of the first Western leaders to push for military action in Libya amid the Arab Spring uprisings. That intervention helped opposition forces topple Gaddafi, who was killed by rebels in October 2011 after four decades in power.
Eleven other defendants face charges in the trial, including three ex-ministers. The verdict has sparked fresh debate about political corruption in France and Sarkozy’s turbulent legacy after his 2007-2012 presidency.
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