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France’s Top Court Upholds Sarkozy’s 2012 Illegal Campaign-Financing Conviction, Making It Final

The ruling ends years of appeals over the Bygmalion overspending case to trigger a six-month home-detention term.

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France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been definitively convicted for a second time
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his home and walks past a crowd of people who have come to support him before his departure for La Sante prison on the day of his incarceration at La Sante prison to serve a five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with an attempt to illegally finance his election campaign by Libya in Paris France on October 21, 2025. (Photo by Bastien Ohier / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by BASTIEN OHIER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The Court of Cassation rejected Nicolas Sarkozy’s final appeal, making his 2012 campaign-finance conviction definitive under French law.
  • His one-year sentence stands, with six months suspended and six months to be served at home under electronic monitoring as ordered on appeal.
  • Prosecutors said the failed 2012 bid spent about €42.8 million, nearly double the €22.5 million cap, using Bygmalion billing to mask costs, which Sarkozy denies.
  • The ruling comes two weeks after his release from La Santé prison following 20 days served in a separate Libya financing case pending an appeal trial from March 16 to June 3.
  • Sarkozy also has a prior definitive conviction for corruption and influence peddling upheld in 2024, for which he served time under electronic monitoring.