Ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy to be released from prison, Paris court rules
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was jailed in October after being convicted of conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya.
Monday 10 November 2025 12:56, UK
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is to be released from prison and be placed under judicial supervision, a Paris appeals court has decided.
The 70-year-old will be banned from leaving France, the court said. An appeal trial is expected to take place later.
Sarkozy had asked a court earlier on Monday to be released from jail pending an appeal.
The former politician, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was jailed in October after being convicted of conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya.
He was jailed at La Sante prison in Paris.
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Sarkozy has consistently denied wrongdoing and has called the case politically motivated.
His release comes after reports he had been the target of death threats in prison less than a day after beginning the five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.
News of the threats emerged after it was reported the former president would be assigned two permanent police officers as bodyguards, stationed in nearby cells throughout his time in prison, to ensure he comes to no harm.
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Sarkozy was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential election campaign with funds from Libya.
He became the first former French leader to be jailed since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after the Second World War.