Sarkozy Granted Parole in Election Spending Case 0 12

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been granted parole in the case concerning overspending during the 2012 election campaign, reports DW. On Wednesday, May 6, the media company RTL, citing sources, reported that the court approved the request of 71-year-old Sarkozy to soften the conditions of his punishment due to his age. The decision will take effect on May 7.

This pertains to the case involving the PR agency Bygmalion, which managed Sarkozy's election campaign in 2012. The court ruled that the politician's party received over 18 million euros from Bygmalion, which were then not accounted for as official expenses, and sentenced Sarkozy to one year in prison.

Soon after, the sentence was reduced to six months with the possibility of replacing imprisonment with an electronic bracelet. As RTL notes, the politician will no longer wear the bracelet.

Sarkozy Found Guilty in Two More Criminal Cases

Nicolas Sarkozy served as President of France from 2007 to 2012 and became the first former head of state to receive a real prison sentence.

In addition to the sentence in the Bygmalion case, in March 2021, the politician was found guilty of corruption and bribery of a member of the French Court of Cassation. At that time, Sarkozy received a one-year prison sentence and an additional two years probation, but the actual sentence was replaced with partial house arrest and the wearing of an electronic bracelet.

In September 2025, Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiracy in connection with the case of financing his election campaign by the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi from 2005 to 2007.

As punishment, the court imposed a five-year prison sentence with a deferral of the execution of the sentence. In October 2025, Nicolas Sarkozy spent 20 days in prison and was released under judicial supervision. The court is currently considering an appeal in this case.