Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to begin a prison sentence on Tuesday after being convicted for his role in an illicit scheme to secure Libyan financing for his 2007 presidential campaign.The ruling makes Sarkozy the first former head of state from a European Union nation to serve time behind bars. French authorities found that his campaign received millions of euros in illegal funding from the regime of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, faces multiple legal battles linked to the alleged cash-for-campaign scandal. The case has cast a long shadow over his political legacy and marks a historic moment in French politics, underscoring the judiciary’s willingness to hold even former presidents accountable.