A French court is set to deliver its verdict on September 25 regarding the trial of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who faces allegations of receiving illegal campaign financing from the late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, as stated by a judge on Tuesday, April 8. Sarkozy, who held the presidency from 2007 to 2012, has refuted these allegations. He is currently serving a one-year sentence with an electronic monitoring device due to a separate influence-peddling case.
Prosecutors contend that Sarkozy and his associates established an agreement with Kadhafi in 2005 to unlawfully finance his successful presidential campaign in 2007. They are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the 70-year-old, along with a €300,000 fine and a five-year prohibition from holding public office.
See more: Major failures’ in France’s financing of 2023 Rugby World Cup
As the trial concluded on Tuesday, Sarkozy characterized the prosecution’s request as “political and violent” within a “hateful media and political environment.”
“I am not here to engage in politics but to defend my honor and ensure the truth is revealed,” he stated, declining to provide further comments.
The conclusion of his trial coincided with another Paris court’s sentencing of far-right leader Marine Le Pen to a prison term and a five-year disqualification from running for office due to embezzlement of European Union funds, casting doubt on her aspirations for the presidency in 2027. This development has shocked France’s political landscape and provoked outrage within her Rassemblement National party.
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