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French court sets November ruling in Sarkozy campaign finance appeal

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French court sets November ruling in Sarkozy campaign finance appeal
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy leaves the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in Paris, on September 25, 2025. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
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France's top court said on Wednesday it will rule in November on embattled former president Nicolas Sarkozy's final appeal over illegal campaign financing in 2012, in a case that could cement his second criminal conviction.

Sarkozy, who remains an influential figure on the right, has been embroiled in legal problems since losing the 2012 presidential election.

Last month, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison over a scheme for late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his 2007 presidential run. He will be the first French postwar leader to serve jail time.

READ ALSO France’s Sarkozy handed five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy

Sarkozy has denied the charges and appealed that conviction, though under French law his sentence will be implemented even as his appeal plays out. He will learn on Monday when his prison term will begin.

Separately, the right-wing politician in 2021 received a one-year jail sentence in the so-called "Bygmalion affair" for the financing of his 2012 presidential campaign.

READ MORE: OPINION: Sarkozy case poses a question - why are French conservatives so crooked?

An appeals court in 2024 confirmed the conviction but lightened his sentence to six months with another six months suspended. He has appealed that ruling.

In November, Sarkozy will learn if his conviction is overturned or confirmed.

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On Wednesday, the country's highest appeals court examined his final appeal in the case.

If the Court of Cassation upholds Sarkozy's conviction in its ruling expected on November 26 -- as demanded by the prosecutor's office at the hearing on Wednesday -- he will serve a six-month term with an electronic bracelet.

The former head of state was sentenced on charges that his right-wing party worked with a public relations firm, Bygmalion, to hide the true cost of his 2012 re-election bid.

Prosecutors said Sarkozy spent nearly €43 million on his 2012 campaign, almost double the permitted amount of €22.5 million.

Sarkozy has accused Bygmalion of having enriched itself behind his back and dismissed the allegations against him as "lies".

His lawyers on Wednesday reiterated that stance.

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"Nothing was materially established by the court of appeal regarding the active involvement of President Sarkozy" in the overspending of campaign accounts, said one of Sarkozy's lawyers, Emmanuel Piwnica.

Sarkozy's latest hearing comes at a sensitive moment for France, with the country thrown into uncertainty by the shock resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu after less than a month in power.

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