A Paris court delivered a significant verdict on Thursday, finding former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of a criminal conspiracy. The conviction stems from accusations that he illegally financed his 2007 presidential campaign with illicit funds provided by the government of Libya’s former autocratic leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
However, Sarkozy, a conservative who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, was cleared of the more severe corruption charges in the same case.
This conviction adds to a growing list of legal troubles for Sarkozy since he left office, having previously been found guilty of corruption, influence peddling, and campaign finance breaches in unrelated cases. He has even lost France’s prestigious Legion of Honor award.
Despite previous legal setbacks, Thursday’s ruling stands out as arguably the most devastating blow to Sarkozy’s public image and political legacy. The court explicitly found him responsible for devising a scheme to ascend to France’s highest office by accepting illegal funds from an authoritarian foreign regime.
Presiding Judge Nathalie Gavarino, in announcing the court’s decision, stated that Sarkozy permitted his senior staff to “obtain or attempt to obtain” this unlawful Libyan funding, acting directly “in his name.”
Now 70 years old, Sarkozy no longer holds political office but remains a prominent figure on the French right, still wielding a degree of influence. Throughout the three-month trial held in Paris earlier this year, he consistently maintained his innocence.
This particular case, spanning over a decade, has been the most extensive, intricate, and explosive of Sarkozy’s legal battles. It centered on allegations that his campaign had unlawfully received financial contributions from the late Colonel el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader who was overthrown and killed during the 2011 uprising.
While no direct agreement between Sarkozy and Colonel el-Qaddafi was proven in court, prosecutors argued that the former French president was at the heart of a “corruption pact.” This arrangement allegedly involved Libyan officials funnelling money into his 2007 campaign via a complex web of bank transfers, cash payments, offshore accounts, and fraudulent transactions.
The prosecution contended that this elaborate scheme flagrantly violated French election laws, which strictly forbid foreign state funding and impose stringent spending limits on presidential campaigns. In exchange for these illicit contributions, Libya reportedly sought advantageous economic agreements, diplomatic recognition, and potential French assistance in quashing an arrest warrant for a high-ranking Libyan official. This official was implicated in the 1989 bombing of a French airliner, an attack that tragically claimed 171 lives.
Between 2005 and 2007, while Sarkozy served as interior minister, his senior aides undertook multiple trips to Libya. This period coincided with the Qaddafi government’s concerted efforts to shed its international pariah status.
Following his election, Sarkozy himself visited Libya and subsequently extended a welcome to Colonel el-Qaddafi for a state visit to France. This visit drew widespread criticism, notably for the Libyan strongman’s decision to famously erect his Bedouin-style tent in a Parisian garden.
This pivotal verdict concluded a legal saga that spanned over a decade, marked by numerous dramatic twists. Just days before the court’s decision, Ziad Takieddine, a French-Lebanese businessman and a defendant in the trial, passed away. Takieddine had previously claimed to have personally delivered millions in cash for Sarkozy’s campaign, despite having fled France for Lebanon.
In a related development in 2023, Sarkozy was formally investigated for witness tampering, accused of benefiting from his allies’ alleged pressure on Takieddine to withdraw his damaging statements.
Sarkozy vehemently denied any corrupt agreement, contending that the accusations were primarily motivated by a desire for revenge from Colonel el-Qaddafi’s allies. Indeed, under Sarkozy’s presidency, France was a leading force in the NATO-led airstrike campaign that ultimately led to Colonel el-Qaddafi’s overthrow and his subsequent death at the hands of Libyan rebels.
Sarkozy’s legal defense team highlighted that the investigation, initiated in 2013, uncovered minimal evidence of Libyan funds directly linked to his campaign and lacked conclusive proof that Libya had indeed transferred millions, despite claims from some former Libyan officials.
It’s important to note that under French law, prosecutors are not required to demonstrate that a corrupt deal was fully executed to secure a conviction; merely proving that such an agreement was made is sufficient.
Since 1945, only one other former French head of state has faced a legal conviction: Jacques Chirac. In 2011, Chirac was found guilty of misusing public funds during his tenure as Mayor of Paris, for which he received a suspended sentence.
While some legal cases against Sarkozy have been dropped since he left office, others have resulted in convictions, underscoring a consistent pattern of legal scrutiny.
For instance, in 2021, he was convicted for attempting to illicitly obtain information from a judge regarding another ongoing court case. This verdict was affirmed on appeal last year, leading to a sentence of one year under house arrest, monitored by an electronic bracelet.
Sarkozy wore the electronic bracelet for several months before being permitted to remove it this year, upon turning 70. French law allows convicts of this age to apply for conditional parole.
Additionally, in 2021, he was convicted for illegally financing his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid, a campaign that significantly surpassed France’s strict spending caps. This particular case is currently undergoing its own appeals process.