Paris court sentences Nicolas Sarkozy to 5 years in prison for criminal conspiracy in Libya case

A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 campaign with funds from Libya, a verdict that the still-influential conservative leader denounced as “a scandal.”

The historic ruling made Sarkozy the first former president of modern France sentenced to actual time behind bars. In a major surprise, the court ruled that the 70-year-old will be incarcerated despite his intention to appeal. It said his imprisonment would start at a date yet to be fixed, sparing the former head of state the humiliation of being led out of the packed courtroom by police.

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007, when he served as interior minister, to finance his winning presidential campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors. It cleared him of three other charges including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds.

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