{"id":321188,"date":"2025-10-21T12:51:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/321188\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:51:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:51:21","slug":"french-ex-president-sarkozy-goes-to-prison-on-conspiracy-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/321188\/","title":{"rendered":"French ex-President Sarkozy goes to prison on conspiracy conviction"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy<\/a> entered a prison in Paris on Tuesday to begin serving a 5-year sentence for a criminal conspiracy<\/a> to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya \u2014 a historic moment that makes him the first ex-leader of modern France to be imprisoned<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Sarkozy, 70, was greeted by hundreds of supporters when he walked out of his Paris home earlier in the day hand-in-hand with his wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. He embraced her before getting into a police car.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, the vehicle passed through the gates of the notorious La Sant\u00e9 prison<\/a> \u2014 where Sarkozy will now serve his sentence in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

Sarkozy was convicted last month for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.<\/p>\n

He contests both the conviction and a judge\u2019s unusual decision to incarcerate him pending appeal. His lawyers said Tuesday that they filed an immediate request for his release.<\/p>\n

A show of defiance<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an ominous day for him, for France and for our institutions, because this incarceration is a disgrace,\u201d Sarkozy\u2019s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois told reporters soon after his incarceration.<\/p>\n

In a show of defiance and while on his way to the prison, Sarkozy released a statement on social media declaring that \u201can innocent man\u201d was being locked up. <\/p>\n

\u201cI will continue to denounce this judicial scandal,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe truth will prevail.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper that he would bring three books in prison \u2014 the maximum allowed \u2014 including Alexandre Dumas\u2019 \u201cThe Count of Monte Cristo,\u2033 in which the hero escapes from an island prison before seeking revenge. He also picked a biography of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not afraid of prison. I\u2019ll hold my head high, including in front of the doors of La Sant\u00e9,\u201d he told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper last week. \u201cI\u2019ll fight till the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarkozy has repeatedly said he is the victim of \u201ca plot\u201d staged by some people linked to the Libyan government and denounced the Sept. 25 verdict as a \u201cscandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solitary confinement<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People stand behind French flags with inscription reading \u201cCourage Nicolas, come back soon\u201d, right, and \u201cTrue France with Nicolas\u201d outside former French President Nicolas Sarkozy\u2019s home, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Paris. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. (AP Photo\/Masha Macpherson)<\/p>\n

People stand behind French flags with inscription reading \u201cCourage Nicolas, come back soon\u201d, right, and \u201cTrue France with Nicolas\u201d outside former French President Nicolas Sarkozy\u2019s home, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Paris. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. (AP Photo\/Masha Macpherson)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Sarkozy\u2019s lawyers said he will be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons. They said he packed a bag with a few sweaters because the prison is cold and earplugs because it\u2019s noisy.<\/p>\n

Christophe Ingrain, another of Sarkozy\u2019s lawyers, denounced \u201ca serious injustice.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very difficult time, but the president has stood strong,\u201d Ingrain said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t complain, hasn\u2019t asked for anything, no special treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solitary confinement implies that Sarkozy will never see other inmates and will spend most of his time alone in his cell, Ingrain said. <\/p>\n

He will be allowed to go outdoors one hour per day alone in the prison yard and to get three visits per week from his family, Ingrain said, adding that he is planning to write a book about his prison experience.<\/p>\n

An outpouring of support for the ex-president<\/p>\n

Sarkozy\u2019s journey from the presidential Elys\u00e9e Palace<\/a> to La Sant\u00e9 prison has captivated France.<\/p>\n

After leaving their home, Sarkozy and his wife walked slowly to join family members, including his children and grandchildren, outside his home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud to share his name, and very proud of how he\u2019s reacting,\u201d said his brother, Guillaume Sarkozy. \u201cI\u2019m truly convinced that he is innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy reacts before entering a police car Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Paris as he heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy reacts before entering a police car Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Paris as he heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Hundreds of supporters applauded and chanted \u201cNicolas, Nicolas\u201d and sang the French anthem. Two French flags were hung on a nearby fence, with the words \u201cCourage Nicolas, return soon\u201d and \u201ctrue France with Nicolas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parisian resident Virginie Rochon, 44, came in support of Sarkozy, calling it \u201cscandalous\u201d to see \u201da former president being taken away while still presumed innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another supporter, V\u00e9ronique Maurey, 50, said \u201cit\u2019s just not possible. And on top of that, calling it a \u2018criminal conspiracy\u2019 kind of makes all of us feel like criminals too because we voted for him. It\u2019s not right to say that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting with Macron<\/p>\n

Embattled centrist President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> hosted the conservative Sarkozy at the presidential palace last week, explaining it was \u201cnormal on a human level\u201d to receive one of his predecessors in this context. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Macron said he would not comment on a justice decision. \u201cNevertheless, it\u2019s normal that the image of a president being imprisoned … may prompt comments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must distinguish emotion, including the legitimate emotion of relatives and part of the country … and the proper functioning of justice,\u201d Macron added. <\/p>\n

Sarkozy has been retired from active politics for years but remains very influential, especially in conservative circles.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s top magistrate R\u00e9my Heitz, Prosecutor-General at the Court of Cassation, warned Tuesday about a risk of \u201chindering (justice) serenity\u201d and of \u201cundermining the independence of judges,\u201d including when the justice minister \u2014 a former conservative who joined Macron\u2019s party \u2014 plans to visit Sarkozy in prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal for everyone must be serenity, to allow justice to truly rule independently… free from any pressure,\u201d Heitz said.<\/p>\n

The Paris court ruled last month that Sarkozy would start to serve prison time without waiting for his appeal to be heard, due to \u201cthe seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court said Sarkozy, as a presidential candidate and interior minister, used his position \u201cto prepare corruption at the highest level\u201d from 2005 to 2007, to finance his presidential campaign with funds from Libya \u2014 then led by longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.<\/p>\n

Under the ruling, Sarkozy was able to file a request for release to the appeals court only once behind bars. Judges have up to two months to process it.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists Angela Charlton, Oleg Cetinic and Nicolas Garriga in Paris contributed to this report. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy entered a prison in Paris on Tuesday to begin serving…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":321189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[160812,160809,160811,8703,156,57,160810,160815,7575,50,57334,3715,80,2938,160813,160814,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-321188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-alexandre-dumas","9":"tag-carla-bruni","10":"tag-christophe-ingrain","11":"tag-emmanuel-macron","12":"tag-france","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-guillaume-sarkozy","15":"tag-jean-michel-darrois","16":"tag-libya","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-nicolas-sarkozy","19":"tag-paris","20":"tag-politics","21":"tag-prisons","22":"tag-virginie-rochon","23":"tag-vronique-maurey","24":"tag-world","25":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115412253125247403","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}