Sarkozy begins 5-year prison term over Libyan campaign scandal
3 Min Read
The former French president's five-year sentence is for conspiring to finance his 2007 campaign with funds from Libya, a conviction he continues to contest.
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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy reacts before entering a police car Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Paris as he heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. (AP)
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison term in Paris after being convicted of conspiring to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya, marking the first time in modern French history that a former head of state has been incarcerated.
The court found that Sarkozy had accepted millions of euros from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to support his campaign, an act judges said constituted a serious breach of public order and the integrity of France’s democratic process.
Before leaving his home on Tuesday, Sarkozy, 70, declared, "An innocent man is being locked up." He was seen walking hand-in-hand with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, greeting supporters who gathered in his upscale neighborhood to chant "Nicolas, Nicolas" and sing the national anthem. Messages of solidarity, reading: "Courage Nicolas, return soon" and "True France with Nicolas," were pinned to nearby fences.
President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace days earlier, commented, "I have always been very clear in my public statements about the independence of the judiciary in my role, but it was normal on a human level to receive one of my predecessors in this context."
Sarkozy's lawyers confirmed he will be held in solitary confinement at La Santé prison for security reasons. His attorney Christophe Ingrain told BFM TV that imprisonment "strengthens his determination, it strengthens his rage to prove that he is innocent," adding that Sarkozy intends to write a book about his experience behind bars.
Another lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, told France Info that Sarkozy "got himself mentally prepared" for isolation, packing "a few sweaters because it's cold in prison, and earplugs because it's very noisy."
Sarkozy faces confinement
In an interview for La Tribune Dimanche, Sarkozy said, "I'm not afraid of prison. I'll hold my head high, including in front of the doors of La Santé. I'll fight till the end." He reportedly packed ten family photos and three books, including Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, whose protagonist escapes unjust imprisonment.
— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) October 21, 2025
The Paris court ruled that Sarkozy must begin serving his sentence immediately due to "the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offense." He will be eligible to file for release only after entering prison, with the appeals court given up to two months to decide. His legal team said a request will be submitted promptly.
La Santé, a 19th-century facility that once held figures like Alfred Dreyfus and Carlos the Jackal, was recently renovated. Former inmate Pierre Botton remarked, "It's not Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the Republic, that's coming… It's a man, and he will live exactly the same thing that everyone does."
Read more: Sarkozy's son plans protest on day of father's imprisonment
