From November 8 to 30, Nicolas Sarkozy returns before the judges. This time, it is for the appeal trial of the illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign, says Bygmalion. At first instance, in 2021, the former president was sentenced to one year in prison.
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The trial opened at midday this Wednesday in Paris. The former president, in a gray suit, appeared relaxed before the hearing opened, chatting with some members of the public in the room. He was sentenced at first instance, in September 2021, to one year in prison for having exceeded the legal ceiling of campaign expensesthe maximum penalty then provided for by law.
Nicolas Sarkozy always denied everything outright. “ A fable », he lost his temper on the stand during his first trial. At the heart of the affair is the financing of his 2012 presidential campaign. The former head of state is accused of having turned a blind eye, while being aware that the events company Bygmalion was invoicing UMP, and under various titles, part of the sumptuous meetings of candidate Sarkozy.
A sleight of hand, since campaign expenses were not paid with the candidate’s budget, they remained below the ceiling authorized by law. But in reality, Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign cost nearly 43 million euros, double the legal amount authorized at the time.
Twelve former campaign executives also retried in Paris
Twelve former executives of his campaign – members of the UMP at the time or of the Bygmalion company – will be retried in Paris for complicity in “ illegal campaign financing ”, but also for forgery, fraud, breach of trust or complicity in these offenses. Revealed two years after the defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012, the scandal led to serial political outbursts on the right.
The former head of state, aged 68, should be present for the highlights of the trial, after being singled out for his absence in first instance by the prosecution. He then only moved on the day of his interrogation and the prosecutor saw there a “ total nonchalance “, demonstrating that the defendant considered himself “ Above the fight “.
Another appearance for corruption in 2025
At first instance, the former president was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal financing of an electoral campaign. A heavier sentence than what had been requested by the prosecution. At the end of this appeal, the former president could, again, receive a heavier sentence than at first instance.
But Nicolas Sarkozy is far from having finished with the courts. He will appear in particular for corruption in 2025 for suspicions of Libyan financing of his previous presidential campaign, the victorious one of 2007, and filed an appeal against his conviction on appeal to three years in prison, including one year, in a case of corruption of a senior magistrate. He has also just been indicted, at the beginning of October, in a part of the Libyan affair linked to the retraction of the Franco-Lebanese intermediary Ziad Takieddine.
Read alsoInvestigation into Ziad Takieddine’s retraction: Nicolas Sarkozy doubly indicted
(And with AFP)