Nicolas Sarkozy

Paris court to rule on former President Sarkozy's bid for early release

A Paris court is deciding on Monday whether to release former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. Sarkozy, 70, became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent behind bars after his conviction on Sept. 25. He was jailed on Oct. 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release. Under French law, detention before an appeal ruling is supposed to be exceptional. Judges will weigh whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, might pressure witnesses, or could obstruct justice. If the request is granted, Sarkozy could leave Paris' La Sante prison within hours under judicial supervision. The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a plot linked to the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy also faces separate proceedings, includ

France's ex-president Sarkozy to begin serving 5-yr prison sentence today

Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first former French president in living memory to be imprisoned when he is expected to begin a five-year sentence on Tuesday in Paris' La Sant prison. Convicted of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya, Sarkozy maintains his innocence. Regardless, he will be admitted to serve his time in a prison that has held some of the most high-profile inmates since the 19th century. They include Capt Alfred Dreyfus, wrongly convicted of treason because he was Jewish, and the Venezuelan militant known as Carlos the Jackal, who carried out several attacks on French soil. Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper that he expects to be held in solitary confinement, where he would be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons. Another possibility is that he is held in the prison's section for vulnerable" inmates, colloquially known as the VIP section. Former La Sant inmates described their experiences and what

Sarkozy set to become France's first former president to serve jail term

Nicolas Sarkozy was told by prosecutors that he will be incarcerated on Oct 21, according to BFM TV, which added that the former president would be held in the Paris prison of La Sante

Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to five years for 2007 Libyan cash campaign

The judges decided that any appeal by Sarkozy wouldn't lift the execution of the sentence. Agence France-Presse said that he is due to be summoned within a month to learn the start of his jail term

France's apex court upholds former Prez Sarkozy's conviction in bribe case

France's highest court has upheld an appeal court decision which had found former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling while he was the country's head of state. Sarkozy, 69, faces a year in prison, but is expected to ask to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet as is the case for any sentence of two years or less. He was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling by both a Paris court in 2021 and an appeals court in 2023 for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. "The convictions and sentences are therefore final, a Court of Cassation statement on Wednesday said. Sarkozy, who was France's president from 2007 to 2012, retired from public life in 2017 though still plays an influential role in French conservative politics. He was among the guests who attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral earlier this month. Sarkozy, in a statement posted on X, said I will assum

Nicolas Sarkozy gets house arrest over illegal campaign financing

Sarkozy, France's president from 2007 to 2012, has vigorously denied wrongdoing during the May-June trial

Sarkozy makes French history with second conviction in a year

The Paris criminal court ruled Thursday that Sarkozy brushed aside accountants' warnings and knowingly exceeded spending limits in a bid to win over voters.

Sarkozy convicted by French court in campaign financing case

He is accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($27.5 million) on the reelection bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande

France's Sarkozy faces jail term in campaign financing trial

The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy concludes Tuesday in Paris.

Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to jail for corruption

Guilty of helping a magistrate land a prestigious job in return for a favour

Former French President Sarkozy convicted of corruption, sentenced to jail

Sarkozy was found guilty by a Paris court of corruption after he offered to pull strings to help a magistrate land a prestigious job in return for a favor

Nicolas Sarkozy's corruption trial delayed after co-defendant falls ill

Sarkozy is only the second former French president to go on trial in modern times, and the first over corruption accusations.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy stands trial for corruption

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling in a phone-tapping scandal

Nicolas Sarkozy ordered to stand trial for attempt to influence judge

According to prosecutors, Sarkozy's lawyer tried to get information from Azibert over the status of a campaign financing investigation

Sarkozy says no evidence against him in Libya funding probe

Sarkozy, who served from 2007-2012, was charged with corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of Libyan public money

Sarkozy in police custody over 'alleged' campaign financing by Gaddafi

An inquiry was opened in April 2013 into allegations that Sarkozy's campaign had benefited from illicit funds from Gaddafi

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy concedes defeat in French rightwing primary

He was beaten into a surprise third place behind Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe, who move into next Sunday's run-off

French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy could be tried in campaign graft case

He faces allegations of false accounting that allowed him to greatly exceed spending limits in 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy terms burkini as 'provocation' that supports radical Islam

Nice is the most recent French resort to ban the burkini worn by Muslim women, several women were also being fines for wearing it

Former French president Sarkozy to meet Modi

The visit comes in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris in Nov last year that left 130 people dead.