Overview
- France’s former president was convicted on September 25 of association de malfaiteurs and given a five-year sentence with immediate custody, then released after about three weeks under court supervision.
- The Court of Appeal has barred him from leaving France and from contacting co-defendants as well as Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin or his cabinet, citing risks to the integrity of proceedings.
- Nine other defendants will be retried alongside him, including Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, while intermediary Alexandre Djouhri remains incarcerated following a six-year sentence and a multimillion-euro fine.
- The Parquet National Financier appealed the first-instance outcomes for all defendants except Ahmed Bugshan, with prior rulings noting extinguished actions for Ziad Takieddine and Thierry Gaubert and acquittals for Éric Woerth and Édouard Ullmo.
- The appeal will determine whether the first-instance conviction is upheld and whether he returns to prison, as a separate Supreme Court ruling in the Bygmalion case is due on November 26.