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Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy enters prison for campaign finance conspiracy
21 October 2025
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at a prison in Paris on Tuesday 21 October to begin serving a 5-year sentence for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. He is the first ex-leader of modern France to be imprisoned. Sarkozy, hand-in-hand with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, left home before getting into a police car and traveling to prison. On his way to prison, Sarkozy said in a statement released on social media that “an innocent man” was being locked up. Sarkozy’s lawyers said a request for release has been immediately filed. He was convicted last month for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.