Overview
- On November 26, the Cour de cassation rejected Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal, making his conviction for illegal financing of his 2012 campaign final.
- Sarkozy’s one-year sentence includes six months suspended and six months to be executed, which may be served under an electronic ankle bracelet.
- Judges found the 2012 spending cap of about €22.5 million was nearly doubled and concealed through fictitious invoices tied to event firm Bygmalion and the UMP party.
- The ruling adds to Sarkozy’s recent legal setbacks, including a final 2024 bribery conviction served partly via electronic monitoring and a five-year sentence in the Libyan funds case now set for appeal in spring 2026 after a brief detention this fall.
- Sarkozy maintains his innocence, and his lawyer Vincent Desry insists he is completely innocent in the Bygmalion matter.