France: Sarkozy Gets Five-Year Jail Term

Former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy has been given a five-year jail term. The decision was made public by the Paris Court on Thursday, September 25, 2025, after the former French leader was found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to taking millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The Paris criminal court acquitted Sarkozy of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, but ordered that he should be placed in custody at a later date, with prosecutors given one month to inform him when he should go to prison. The court adds that, even if Sarkozy appeals the verdict, the measure will remain in force. Mr Sarkozy who ruled France from 2007 to 2012, was accused of using the funds from Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign. In exchange, the prosecution alleged Sarkozy promised to help rehabilitate Gaddafi’s international image especially with Western countries.

Paris Judge Nathalie Gavarino said, 70-year-old Sarkozy had allowed his close aides to contact Libyan officials with a view to obtaining financial support for his campaign. But the court ruled that there was not enough evidence to find Sarkozy was the beneficiary of the illegal campaign financing. Investigation into the matter was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam, son of the then-Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father’s money for campaign funding. The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Taki...