FILE- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the appeals courthouse in Paris, France, Monday, March 16, 2026, for his trial over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors on Wednesday asked judges to send former President Nicolas Sarkozy to prison — again — this time for seven years and fine him 300,000 euros ($330,000) over allegations that the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi secretly funded his successful 2007 presidential campaign.
Sarkozy, 71, was sentenced in September 2025 to five years for criminal conspiracy, becoming the first former French president in modern history to be imprisoned.
He served 20 days in Paris’ La Santé prison before being released in November under court supervision. He appealed; prosecutors followed, seeking to revive the charges he beat at trial and impose a longer sentence. The appeal runs until early June, with a verdict expected Nov. 30.
The former president has faced multiple corruption cases in recent years, but the Libya case carries by far the heaviest political and symbolic weight, alleging that a foreign dictatorship helped bring a French president to power.
