On appeal, one year of suspended prison sentence required against Nicolas Sarkozy

Required on appeal: one year suspended prison sentence for Nicolas Sarkozy

\n\nAs part of the Bygmalion case, relating to the campaign accounts for the 2012 presidential election, the former head of state, Nicolas Sarkozy, was the subject of a requisition forone year suspended prison sentence by the general prosecutor's office on appeal.\n\n

The Bygmalion and Nicolas Sarkozy affair

\n\nThe Bygmalion affair is an important French political-financial case which broke out in 2014. It concerns the exaggeration of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign accounts during his failure in the 2012 presidential election. The declared amounts of this campaign would have been underestimated, leading to an overflow of authorized expenditure.\n\nAt first instance, Nicolas Sarkozy was acquitted in 2016 by the Paris criminal court, but on appeal, the general prosecutor's office considered thatone year suspended prison sentence would be an appropriate sanction for Nicolas Sarkozy.\n\n

The verdict on appeal

\n\nIn its indictment, the public prosecutor's office described Nicolas Sarkozy's actions as "very serious" and considered that they "undermine public confidence in the democratic process." As a result, prosecutors requested one year suspended prison sentence for the former president. The court will make its decision at a later date.\n\n

Nicolas Sarkozy's reaction

\n\nNicolas Sarkozy has always proclaimed his innocence in this affair, arguing that he had not been informed of the spending overruns. He has always maintained that he did not manage his campaign's accounts and that he had no knowledge of them.\n\nNicolas Sarkozy's defense said it was dismayed by this decision and insisted that the former president had nothing to do with this affair. They recalled that Nicolas Sarkozy had been acquitted at first instance and declared that they would appeal any conviction.\n\n

Conclusion

\n\nThis affair once again puts the former President of the Republic in the spotlight, and these latest developments risk further blurring his image, as a presidential election approaches. Whatever the outcome of this procedure, this indictment marks an important turning point in this affair which has lasted for several years. \n\n