France’s highest court has confirmed a sentence against former President Nicolas Sarkozy related to illegal financing of his 2012 re-election campaign. Sarkozy was convicted for exceeding the campaign spending cap and for hiring a PR firm, Bygmalion, to obscure the excess costs.
In 2024, Sarkozy, aged 70, received a one-year sentence, with six months suspended, allowing him to serve that portion through electronic monitoring rather than imprisonment. He has consistently denied all allegations against him.
Prosecutors claimed that Sarkozy’s party, the UMP, spent almost double the legally permitted €22.5 million (£19.4 million) on extravagant campaign rallies and events. To conceal these additional expenses, the UMP instructed Bygmalion to bill the party instead of the campaign directly.
This ruling marks Sarkozy’s second definitive conviction. Previously, in December, a High Court upheld a corruption conviction that mandated he wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for six months. In September, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of criminal conspiracy, but he was released after serving 20 days.
An appeal trial is scheduled for next year. Until then, Sarkozy will be under strict judicial supervision and prohibited from leaving France. Following his release, his team announced plans for a book titled “A Prisoner’s Diary,” which reflects on his three weeks in jail. An excerpt shared on social media discusses the experience of silence and noise within the prison environment.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74x55epn34o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss