Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was supposed to spend a year behind bars without parole for illegal campaign financing, but he has now successfully appealed the court’s ruling. The sentence was reduced on Wednesday – the former president will not have to go to prison after all.
Sarkozy was initially sentenced to one year in prison without parole more than two years ago. According to the court, the former president does not have to serve the sentence in prison. The exact form of the prison sentence is to be determined later.
With its verdict, the court went further than the prosecutor’s demand for a one-year suspended sentence. The defense of conservative Sarkozy had called for his acquittal. Sarkozy can appeal the decision to the Court of Cassation.
Fictitious invoices as an attempt at concealment
The proceedings revolve around Sarkozy’s ultimately failed re-election as president in 2012. Its chairman, Pascaline Chamboncel-Saligue, said Sarkozy’s team had exceeded capped campaign costs by at least around 20 million euros.
To cover up the overspending, his party UMP – now renamed Les Républicains – is said to have concealed the expenditure using a system of fictitious invoices. Sarkozy may not have invented the system, but he ignored important information.
Sarkozy rejected the accusations. Other defendants were given prison sentences and suspended sentences of up to two years in the appeal proceedings. Sarkozy, once a star of civil rights in France, was French head of state from 2007 to 2012. He has also been in battle with the French legal system for years on other matters.
Source: Krone
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