Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison sentence for conspiring to fund his 2007 election campaign with Libyan money, becoming the first French ex-leader to be jailed since World War II.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy walks to prison He was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy #Sarkozy
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法国前总统萨科齐前往巴黎拉桑特监狱，正式开始服刑 pic.twitter.com/mloErCsFUa
PARIS — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday began serving a five-year prison sentence at La Santé prison in Paris after being convicted of conspiring to finance his 2007 election campaign with money from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The 70-year-old, who continues to insist on his innocence, arrived at the high-security prison at 9:40 a.m. amid heavy police presence. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, becomes the first French ex-leader to go to jail since Philippe Pétain in 1945.
Before his incarceration, Sarkozy posted on X: “I have no doubt. Truth will prevail. But how crushing the price will have been.” He added, “It is not a former president they are locking up this morning – it is an innocent man.”
Supporters gathered outside his Paris home, waving flags and chanting as he embraced his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. President Emmanuel Macron said he met Sarkozy “on a human level,” while Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin vowed to visit him in prison.
Sarkozy has lodged an appeal and will serve his sentence in an isolated cell equipped with a desk, shower, and small television.