23 October 2025
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, arriving at La Santé prison in Paris in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.
The 70-year-old former conservative leader left his home for the car journey to the prison, walking hand in hand with his wife Carla Bruni and cheered by supporters chanting “Nicolas, Nicolas” and singing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
Sarkozy, who was convicted and sentenced last month, is the first former French leader to be jailed since Marshal Philippe Pétain, a Nazi collaborator, after World War Two.
Sarkozy says he is innocent
Shortly after heading for La Santé, Sarkozy published a lengthy post on X claiming he was the victim of “revenge and hatred.”
“It is not a former president of the Republic who is being imprisoned this morning — it is an innocent man,” he said.
Sarkozy’s conviction capped years of legal battles over allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions of euros in cash from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later overthrown and killed during the Arab Spring uprisings.
While Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with aides to orchestrate the funding scheme, he was acquitted of personally receiving or using the money. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated.
His lawyers said they had filed a request for early release pending appeal and expected a review within a month, hoping Sarkozy could be freed by Christmas.
Sarkozy to be held in isolation unit
Sarkozy will likely be held in La Santé’s isolation unit, where inmates occupy single cells and are separated during outdoor activities for security reasons.
Source: tribune
