Nicolas Sarkozy, former president of France, was arrested on Monday, March 16, 2026, for the start of his appeal trial in the Libyan campaign financing scandal that already saw him receive a first 5-year prison sentence last year. The second trial will run until 3 June.
France’s unprecedented court case involving former president Nicolas Sarkozy is heading into a second round.
Monday, March 16, 2026, marked the start of the appeals trial in the Libyan financing scandal, in which Sarkozy is accused of having made a deal with late Libyan dictator Muammer Gaddhafi to receive financing for his presidential campaign in 2007.
Under the alleged deal, reportedly struck by two of Sarkozy’s closest political aides, Gaddafi would have provided Sarkozy with financing for his presidential campaign in exchange for help to restore his role on the international scene. At the first trial in the case, a Paris court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy but did not conclude that he received or used the funds from Libyan in his campaign.
Sarkozy was already sentenced for the first time in the case last September.
He received a five-year prison sentence and was jailed for twenty days before being released again.
He immediately challenged the court’s decision, maintaining that he was innocent.
The appeal trial is set to run until 3 June. Despite the first sentence in September last year, the opening of a new trial means that Sarkozy is now once again presumed innocent.
