French Court Upholds Jail Sentence for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy in Illegal Financing Case

Paris. A French court on Monday upheld a prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a case involving illegal financial contributions.

This decision means the former president, who served one term from 2007 to 2012 and has faced legal troubles since leaving office, may have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet again.

His final legal recourse ended in December 2024 regarding the so-called 'Bismuth' case, where he was sentenced to five years in prison, two of which were suspended, for criminal conspiracy for attempting to bribe a judge. The former president denied the allegations.

Last November, he received a second conviction in the 'Bygmalion' case concerning the illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election bid. France's highest court upheld a six-month prison sentence in this case. The appeals court rejected his plea to merge the sentences from both cases.

He already served 20 days in jail last year on charges of receiving financial support from Libya in 2007. He is the first president of modern France to go to jail. Sarkozy has appealed this case.

Sarkozy is the first French leader to be imprisoned since Nazi head of state Philippe Pétain after World War II.

Despite his legal troubles after leaving office, he is still regarded as an influential figure.