Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after a court found him guilty of colluding with former late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy's successful election campaign in 2007 was reportedly supported by funds from Libya.
As France's interior minister, he struck a deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious 2007 presidential election bid. However, the court acquitted the former head of state, France's president from 2007 to 2012, of corruption and personally accepting illegal campaign financing.
Sarkozy is highly unlikely to avoid prison now, as he has been for years. He is placed in custody until his sentencing is finalised. He was also fined €100,000 and banned from holding public office in France. He has already been convicted twice before. The conservative was made to wear an electronic tag after his graft conviction. The conservative was also dragged through court for influence peddling.
The public prosecutor accused Sarkozy of entering into a "Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years".
Sarkozy's Libya link
Prosecutors argued Sarkozy and his aides, acting with his authority and in his name, struck a deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious presidential election bid two years later.
Investigators believe that in return, Gaddafi was promised help to restore his international image after Tripoli was blamed by the West for bombing a plane in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and another over Niger in 1989, killing hundreds of passengers.
From streets to government offices, the reactions in France were mixed. The right - including the interior minister - rushed to give support to Sarkozy. On the left, the ruling was seen as proof of the independence of the judiciary.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who leads Sarkozy's right-wing Republicans party, expressed his "full support and friendship", adding he had "no doubt" the ex-president will "devote all his energy" to defending himself on appeal.
Sarkozy has faced repercussions beyond the courtroom, including losing his Legion of Honour -- France's highest distinction -- following the graft conviction.
But he still enjoys considerable influence and popularity on the French right, and has on occasion had private meetings with President Emmanuel Macron.
