Sarkozy convicted of criminal conspiracy; Bruni-Sarkozy could face longer term

Paris — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a Libyan campaign-finance case and was sentenced to five years in prison, a Paris court announced on Thursday. The verdict centers on whether Sarkozy and close aides used back-channel arrangements to obtain funds from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime for the 2007 presidential bid. The ruling makes Sarkozy the first former French head of state to be convicted in a case involving foreign money tied to a political campaign. He has said he will appeal the decision, which he denounced as an attack on the rule of law.

Judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy allowed his inner circle to act with a view toward obtaining financial support from the Libyan regime during a period when Gaddafi’s government was pursuing closer ties with the West. The five-year sentence sets a stark outcome for a man who has long loomed large in French politics, even as he has faced a string of legal challenges in several decades of public life. The court ordered that Sarkozy be placed in custody at a later date, with prosecutors given one month to inform the former president when he should report to prison. The ruling said he would serve time even if he appeals, underlining the seriousness of the verdict for the former president’s political and personal legacy.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, 57, who stood by her husband in court on Thursday, faces a separate, related set of charges tied to the same alleged scheme. Bruni-Sarkozy has been charged with involvement in a criminal conspiracy and with acts described by prosecutors as an attempt to whitewash Sarkozy’s image amid allegations that he accepted millions in cash from Gaddafi’s regime. If convicted on those offenses, she could face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years, a harsher potential outcome than Sarkozy’s five-year term. Bruni-Sarkozy has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and she has remained at her husband’s side through the proceedings, including social-media posts that reflected her support and affection.

The verdict marks a rare moment in which a sitting or former French president has been found guilty in a case linked to foreign influence over a domestic political campaign. Sarkozy, who was elected in 2007 and lost his bid for re-election in 2012, had denied all wrongdoing during the trial. He and his lawyers argued that the campaign financing allegations were based on forged or misrepresented documents, and Sarkozy dismissed the case as politically motivated.

The case connects to long-running questions about France’s ties with Libya in the 2000s. The allegations trace back to 2011, when a Libyan state news agency and Muammar Gaddafi himself claimed that millions of euros had flowed into Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. In 2012, Mediapart published what it said was a Libyan intelligence memo referencing a 50 million-euro funding agreement, a document Sarkozy’s camp has disputed as forged. Investigators have also scrutinized trips by Sarkozy aides to Libya during his time as interior minister from 2005 to 2007, including discussions about financing and political strategy.

Ziad Takieddine, a Franco-Lebanese businessman who was among the co-defendants, asserted at one point that suitcases of cash had been delivered from Tripoli to the Interior Ministry, though he later retracted that claim. Takieddine died earlier this year in Beirut, adding another layer of complexity to the case and to ongoing investigations. Prosecutors have continued to pursue a separate thread of inquiry into possible witness-tampering connected to the broader Libyan-financing saga. The trial itself was concluded after about three months of testimony and examination of dozens of witnesses and documents.

The verdict comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Sarkozy’s broader legal standing. In a separate case, Sarkozy was previously convicted of corruption and influence-peddling for attempting to obtain information from a magistrate in 2014, for which he wore an electronic monitoring bracelet before receiving a conditional release on age grounds. In June, he was stripped of France’s Legion of Honor following that conviction. He has appealed that ruling as well, and his higher-court appeal is pending.

Bruni-Sarkozy’s fate remains tied to the broader inquiry into the so-called Operation Save Sarko, a name used by prosecutors to describe the alleged effort to guard Sarkozy from criminal exposure by shaping or concealing the financing narrative. The couple’s public appearances in court and Bruni-Sarkozy’s social-media posts have kept their high-profile status in French political and cultural life, even as the legal proceedings cast a long shadow over Sarkozy’s legacy and his wife’s future in both politics and public life.

Observers say the five-year sentence for Sarkozy, alongside the looming possibility of a longer term for Bruni-Sarkozy, underscores France’s insistence on accountability in cases involving foreign influence on campaigns. The outcome will be watched closely for signals about how other high-profile cases involving political finance and international connections may be adjudicated in the future. As Sarkozy contemplates his next legal steps, Bruni-Sarkozy’s case remains unresolved but could take a similar path through the courts if prosecutors push forward with charges related to the same alleged scheme.