Overview

• A Paris court found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy tied to efforts to seek Libyan support for his 2007 campaign and imposed a €100,000 fine and a five-year bar from public office.
• Judges said prosecutors failed to prove Libyan money ultimately financed the campaign and acquitted him of passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.
• The sentence is enforceable at once, and Sarkozy has appealed; he must meet prosecutors on October 13 to be notified of his incarceration arrangements.
• Calls for clemency mounted from allies such as Henri Guaino, while figures on the left defended the ruling and far-right leader Marine Le Pen attacked the growing use of provisional execution.
• Paris prosecutors opened investigations after presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino received death threats, drawing condemnations from the justice minister and legal groups.