Sarkozy's one-year prison sentence for illegal financing of his 2012 election campaign ratified

A French court has upheld the one-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy for illegally financing his 2012 presidential campaign. The process began after his appeal against the initial sentence in 2021.

The court found that Sarkozy was aware of the situation regarding his campaign invoices, particularly in relation to the organization of his rallies. Six months of the sentence are suspended.

Jérome Lavrilleux, former deputy director of Sarkozy’s campaign, and another judge in the Bygmalion case, has been sentenced to two years in prison with 18 months suspended. This information was reported by French television BFM TV.

Guillaume Lambert, the former campaign manager of Sarkozy, has also been sentenced to two years in prison with 18 months suspended. Meanwhile, Franck Attal and Guy Alves, former leaders of Bygmalion, have received one year and 18 months of prison sentence, respectively, with suspended sentences.

The investigation

The case centered around falsifying invoices to keep the campaign expenses below the French regulation limit. Investigators suspect that the actual cost was around 42 million euros, surpassing the 22.5 million euro limit.

This ruling comes after another three-year prison sentence against Sarkozy was upheld by a French court in May 2023. This case involved corruption and influence peddling in a wiretapping scheme. Once again, Sarkozy appealed the initial sentence.

As the former president from 2007 to 2012, Sarkozy is the first former head of state to face a physical trial. However, his predecessor Jacques Chirac was sentenced to two years in prison for crimes committed during his tenure as mayor of Paris but did not attend court due to health reasons.