Sarkozy released from prison pending appeal in conspiracy case

Sarkozy called prison a 'nightmare'

During Monday's hearing to consider his plea, Sarkozy, speaking from prison via video conference, said he had always complied with all demands of justice.

“I never thought I would go to prison at 70. This ordeal was forced on me and I survived it. It's hard, very hard,” he said.

Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who he said helped him survive “this nightmare.” His wife and two sons attended the hearing at the Paris courthouse.

Monday's hearing did not address the reasons for the verdict.

However, Sarkozy told the court he never asked Libya's longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi for any funding. “I will never admit to something I didn’t do,” he said.

French law provides that release should be the general rule pending appeal, while detention should only apply to persons considered dangerous or at risk of fleeing to another country, or to protect evidence or prevent witness tampering.

Sarkozy's lawyer Christophe Ingrain praised the “normal implementation of the law” in a brief statement. “The next step is the appeals court, and our job now … is to prepare for that,” he said.

The Minister of Justice was banned from meeting

In a rare decision, the court specifically banned Sarkozy from maintaining contact with Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.

Darmanin, a former conservative who once considered Sarkozy a mentor before rejoining President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party in 2017, paid him a visit in prison last month. Some French judges criticized the move as undermining judicial independence.

Sarkozy, who ruled from 2007 to 2012, faces separate proceedings, including a Nov. 26 ruling by France's top court into illegal funding of his failed 2012 re-election bid, as well as an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.

He was found guilty in 2023 corruption and influence trading for attempting to bribe a judge in exchange for information about a court case in which he was involved. France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, later upheld the verdict.