Overview
- The court ordered Sarkozy’s release from La Santé prison with strict judicial controls, including a ban on leaving France and broad no‑contact rules that extend to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
- Appeal judges said detention was not the sole means to prevent evidence tampering, pressure, collusion, flight, or reoffending, citing the legal threshold for provisional detention.
- Prosecutors supported conditional release, and the court aligned with that position in favor of supervision over continued imprisonment.
- Sarkozy addressed the hearing by videoconference, denied ever seeking Libyan funding, and described his incarceration as a very hard and exhausting ordeal.
- An appeal trial in the Libyan financing case is expected to begin around March 2026, as co‑accused Wahib Nacer has been freed under supervision and Alexandre Djouhri remains in custody.