France's Sarkozy, defending his 'honour', awaits corruption appeal verdict

In 2021, a lower court found Sarkozy guilty for trying to bribe an ex-judge and selling influence in exchange of confidential information regarding an investigation into the 2007 campaign finance of Sarkozy.

In a shocking fall from grace, he was sentenced to three years in prison with two of those suspended.

Sarkozy has always denied all wrongdoing. He served as French president for one term, from 2007 to 2012.

In a separate case, the financial prosecutors demanded that Sarkozy be tried on charges of corrupting and financing an election campaign illegally in relation to the alleged Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential campaign.

The case that was the subject of Wednesday's ruling by the appeals court -

Indirectly linked to suspicions of illegal Libyan funding is the "wiretapping scandal" in France.

Investigators investigating the Libyan connection in 2013 decided to wiretap Sarkozy’s two phone lines. They discovered that the former president and his lawyer used a secret line. This led to the corruption probe.

Sarkozy said during the appeals hearing: "I am here to defend my honor, which was violated." His voice was trembling as he said: "I'm here in order to convince the court I did nothing".

"Am I a criminal because I call...my friend and lawyer?" He was referring to conversations he had with his lawyer who is on trial with Sarkozy, as well as a judge, according to the prosecutors, for being part of a conspiracy.

The public prosecutor requested a sentence of three years suspended imprisonment, which is a milder punishment than the original conviction.

Sarkozy’s conservative predecessor Jacques Chirac was the only president to have been convicted of corruption by a French court during France’s 64-year old Fifth Republic.

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