In Paris, the Court of Cassation has definitively affirmed the 2021 conviction of former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy, affirming he illegally overspent on his 2012 re-election campaign. The court rejected his final appeal on Wednesday November 26th, making the verdict final.
Sarkozy’s sentence, a one-year prison term with six months suspended, stands, though under French law he may serve it under house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet, depending on judicial conditions.
This ruling comes only two weeks after his release from jail, where he had been held while appealing a separate 2025 conviction related to alleged illicit Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.
Sarkozy has consistently denied personal wrongdoing in the 2012 case. The Court of Cassation’s decision deals a major blow to his political legacy and marks a rare instance in modern French history of a former president being held criminally accountable for campaign financing.
Observers say the ruling underscores growing scrutiny over political funding in France, reinforcing legal standards around campaign transparency and fiscal compliance during elections.
