Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, will begin serving a five-year prison sentence at La Santé prison in Paris on October 21, following his conviction for criminal conspiracy. This makes him the first postwar French leader—and the first former head of state in the European Union—to be sentenced to prison.
Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over a scheme in which the late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi allegedly funded his 2007 presidential campaign. He was acquitted of embezzling Libyan funds, passive corruption, and illicit financing of an electoral campaign. Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offenses as of “exceptional gravity,” prompting the court to order incarceration.
The former president has denied the charges and appealed the conviction, with a new trial expected within 18 months. Sarkozy previously served three months under electronic monitoring for a separate graft conviction and received a one-year prison sentence—partly suspended—for illegal financing of his 2012 campaign. Following his legal troubles, he also lost France’s Legion of Honour.
Authorities are preparing heightened security measures for his imprisonment, including possible placement in a unit for vulnerable prisoners or solitary confinement. Despite his legal challenges, Sarkozy remains an influential figure in French right-wing politics and continues to meet with current leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron.
