This decision is another blow to the former president's reputation and legacy, just two weeks after his release from prison pending an appeal in another campaign financing case.
France’s top court has rejected former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s final appeal in the Bygmalion case, making a final ruling on his sentencing for illegal financing of his failed 2012 presidential campaign.
In February 2024, a lower court sentenced the former French president to one year in prison after investigators uncovered a large-scale double-billing system designed to hide the soaring cost of the campaign — nearly €43 million spent, far above the legal limit of €22.5 million.
Much of the cost of rallies was shifted to his UMP party (now known as The Republicans) through fictitious conventions.
France’s Cassation Court was not reexamining the entire case but was verifying that the law and rules of proceedings were correctly applied during trial.
The court said it considers that the offence of illegal financing has been fully established: as a candidate, Sarkozy approved the expenditure knowing that it would exceed the limits set by law, according to a statement sent to Euronews.
The court also confirmed the involvement of his campaign manager and two UMP executives, who were accused of deliberately taking part in the scheme.
Sarkozy’s sentencing is now considered definitive by French law, with no further appeal possible.
Despite the sentence, the former head of state will not go to jail and will either be placed under partial house arrest or monitored with an electronic bracelet.
In a separate case, Sarkozy was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy in a long-running case alleging that he sought illegal financing from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to secure his 2007 election victory.
The Paris court handed Sarkozy a five-year prison sentence, a €100,000 fine and a five-year ban on holding public office.
He began serving that sentence at Paris' La Sante prison, but was released some three weeks later on 10 November after an appeals court granted him release under judicial supervision.