Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial in Paris on charges of receiving millions of euros in illicit money from the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.
In return, prosecutors allege, Sarkozy promised to help Gaddafi fight his reputation as a pariah from Western countries.
Sarkozy (69 years old) was President of France from 2007 to 2012.
He has always denied these accusations saying they were made against him by people with motives to bring him down.
The investigation was opened in 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam, the son of the then Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions from his father's money to fund his election campaign.
The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Taqi al-Din – who had long served as a mediator between France and the Middle East – said he had written evidence that Sarkozy's campaign had been “generously” funded by Tripoli, and that €50 million (£43 million) had gone into effect. The value of the payments after he became president.
In addition to Sarkozy, 12 other people accused of arranging the agreement with Gaddafi are being tried. They all deny these accusations.
Sarkozy's wife, former Italian model and singer Carla Bruni Sarkozy He was accused last year of concealing evidence related to the Gaddafi case And participating with violators to commit fraud, which she denies.
Since losing his re-election bid in 2012, Sarkozy has been the target of several criminal investigations.
He also appealed against the ruling issued in February 2024, which he ruled Guilty of overspending on his 2012 re-election campaignThen, hiring a public relations company to cover up the matter. He was sentenced to one year in prison, including six months suspended.
In 2021, he was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014 and became the first former French president to receive a prison sentence. In December, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that this was possible He spends his time at home wearing a tag Instead of going to prison.
Sarkozy was not wearing the tag when he arrived at court in Paris on Monday morning.
However, this is only because the details of that sentence have not yet been determined.
It is likely that during this three-month trial over the so-called Libya contact, the former president will appear wearing the device.
The trial is scheduled to continue until April 10. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison.
