Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted on Wednesday that he "did not betray the trust of the French people" in his final statement to the Paris Court of Appeal, which is re-examining the case over allegations that the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi secretly financed his successful 2007 presidential campaign, reports "Euronews".
"This case of alleged Libyan financing of my campaign began with lies and with a conspiracy; it must end with truth and transparency, he added. I will never be able to admit to something I did not do."
On May 13, the prosecution asked the three judges hearing the appeal to find Sarkozy guilty of corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of Libyan public funds - three charges of which he was acquitted at his first trial.
Prosecutors called Sarkozy an "inciter" of the alleged corruption deal, going further than the first trial, where judges had found him guilty only of allowing his aides to approach the Libyan regime on his behalf.
The first court acquitted him of corruption on a technicality, ruling that as a presidential candidate he did not have the status of "public authority" required by French anti-corruption law.
The former president has faced numerous corruption cases in recent years, but the Libya case carries the heaviest political and symbolic weight, alleging that a foreign dictatorship helped bring a French president to power.
Other members of Sarkozy's inner circle, including former chief of staff Claude Gueant, former interior minister Brice Ortefeuille, longtime Sarkozy intermediary Alexandre Journy, and Sarkozy's campaign treasurer in 2007 Eric Wörth, are also accused in the case.
The appeals court's decision has been postponed and is expected to be delivered on November 30.
We recall that 71-year-old Sarkozy was sentenced in September 2025 to five years for criminal conspiracy, making him the first former French president in modern history to be imprisoned.
Sarkozy was released from the "La Santé" prison in Paris after serving 20 days. He later published the book "Diary of a Prisoner".