This Monday, January 6, 2025, Nicolas Sarkozy returns to justice at the Paris court. The former head of state is accused of having financed his 2007 presidential campaign with money from the former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
If the facts are proven by the courts then Nicolas Sarkozy risks being heavily sanctioned. The former President of the Republic could be sentenced until 10 years in prison (maximum sentence), 375,000 euros finethe ban on holding public office as well as suppression of civil rights like voting. In this trial which will last 4 months, the former head of state, aged 69, is expected on the afternoon of Monday January 6, 2025 before the Paris court. However, Nicolas Sarkozy denies the facts with which he is accused.
What do we blame Nicolas Sarkozy for?
The former President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy is suspected of having financed his campaign for the 2007 presidential election with money from the former Libyan dictator, Gaddafi. A corruption affair between the two men. Colonel Gaddafi, through this pact, would have committed to paying millions of euros illegally to the former President of the Republic. In order to finance his campaign. For his part, Nicolas Sarkozy would have committed himself via equipment contracts and the return to the international scene of the Libyan dictator. Indeed, seven months after the victory of the UMP candidate (today “Les Républicains”), Colonel Gaddafi was received at the Elysée.
For these reasons, Nicolas Sarkozy will be tried before the Paris court for “passive corruption”. But also for “illegal campaign financing, criminal conspiracy and concealment of embezzlement of public funds”. In addition to the former head of state, 13 people will also be tried. Among them, people close to Gaddafi and those close to Nicolas Sarkozy such as a former Airbus executive. Three former ministers will also appear in court. Among them, Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, both former Ministers of the Interior. As well as Eric Woerth, former Minister of Labor.
Sarkozy already convicted?
Last December, Nicolas Sarkozy was already sentenced to one year in prison under an electronic bracelet. About the Bismuth affair. This is an unprecedented sanction for a former President of the Republic. A regular at the courts since in five years, Nicolas Sarkozy has already had five trials.
