Overview
- Judges upheld a favoritism finding over polling and political consulting commissioned without public tenders during the 2007–2012 presidency.
- The suspended one-year term means Claude Guéant will not go to prison unless he violates conditions set by the court.
- Prosecutors had asked in May to confirm first-instance penalties, including a year for Guéant with eight months to be served and a suspended term plus a €70,000 fine for pollster Pierre Giacometti.
- The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office estimates €4.7 million in polling and €2.7 million in consulting were billed outside procurement rules to firms tied to Patrick Buisson, Pierre Giacometti and Ipsos.
- The affair began after a 2009 Cour des comptes report flagged irregularities, and it adds to Guéant’s broader legal troubles, including a recent appeal of a separate conviction in the so‑called Libyan case.