France’s highest appeals court on Wednesday, December 18, confirmed a verdict against former president Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former head of state.
The sentence handed down in 2023 by the initial appeals court, was three years’ imprisonment of which two are suspended, and a ban on running for elected office. The sentence allows for the prison term to be served by wearing an electronic tag, without being incarcerated. He will be summoned by a judge for the bracelet to be put on him.
Sarkozy said he would “of course” respect the French court’s decision but will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
The so-called Bismuth case is just one of several pursuing the man dubbed the “hyper-president” while in office, from 2007 to 2012.
Sarkozy was sentenced to six months in prison and a six months suspended sentence on appeal in the so-called Bygmalion case. Sarkozy’s team was accused of spending nearly double the legal limit on his lavish 2012 re-election campaign, using false billing from a public relations firm called Bygmalion. He has denied any wrongdoing and appealed again, to the highest court.
A new trial was ordered in a different case, over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign. France’s financial crimes prosecutors said Sarkozy and 12 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his ultimately victorious campaign. Sarkozy is accused of corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds but has always rejected all the charges.
