Overview
- The Court of Cassation rejected Nicolas Sarkozy’s final appeal, making the February 2024 appellate judgment and one‑year sentence—six months to be served—definitive.
- Enforcement will be set by a sentencing judge, with options that include house arrest with an electronic bracelet.
- Courts concluded the 2012 campaign concealed nearly €43 million in spending, almost double the €22.5 million legal cap, through double invoicing via Bygmalion and Event & Cie with costs shifted to the UMP.
- The decision also cements convictions of the campaign director and two party officials in the case, while other defendants received sentences of up to about three and a half years.
- The ruling marks Sarkozy’s second final criminal conviction as he denies personal culpability and prepares for an appeal trial in the separate Libya‑financing case scheduled for March to June 2026 following a recent 20‑day stay in La Santé prison.