France’s Ex-President Sarkozy Lost Appeal in Corruption Case

Published: 21 May 2023

Nicolas Sarkozy WEF

France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy will have to wear an electronic bracelet under house arrest for one year and deferring two years. (Photo: World Economic Forum, Flickr, License)

By Zdravko Ljubas

A French court of appeals has upheld a jail sentence against France's former president, Nicolas Sarkozy, ordering him to wear an electronic bracelet under house arrest for one year and deferring two years, as reported by Le Monde.

The Paris Cessation Court has also barred Sarkozy from holding public office or voting for three years.

In March 2021, Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling.

The allegations stem from actions that occurred between 2013 and 2014, after Sarkozy left office, while he was under investigation for allegedly collecting unlawfully large campaign payments from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt in order to support his 2007 presidential campaign.

Sarkozy's former lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and judge Gilbert Azibert reportedly received the same sentence as the ex-president after the court determined that Sarkozy and Herzog had made a "corruption pact" with Azibert to gather and exchange information about a judicial inquiry.

In an interview with Le Figaro, the first after the sentence, Sarkozy emphasized that he is a "fighter" and that "the truth will eventually triumph."