Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted on appeal in the Bygmalion affair for the “illegal financing” of his presidential campaign in 2012. He was sentenced to one year in prison, part of which was suspended, but decided to appeal to the Court of Cassation.
Nicolas Sarkozy convicted again in the Bygmalion affair. The former head of state had already been found guilty of exceeding the legal spending limit during his campaign in the 2012 presidential election during his trial at first instance in 2021. Sentenced to one year in prison, he then appealed. This Wednesday, February 14, the decision of the appeal judgment was rendered and the Paris Court of Appeal recognized the guilt of the former President of the Republic, but pronounced a less severe sentence: one year in prison including six months suspended.
This sentence, equivalent to the requisitions issued by the prosecution during the first instance and greater than the twelve months suspended prison sentence required on appeal, does not satisfy Nicolas Sarkozy. The former head of state is still “combative” according to his lawyer and has decided to appeal to the Court of Cassation, Maître Vincent Desry declared to the press at the end of the hearing.
Judged guilty of “illegal financing of an electoral campaign”, Nicolas Sarkozy has always denied having knowledge of or having benefited from the exceeding of the legal ceiling or from a system of false invoices set up by the UMP and the communications company Bygmalion to conceal unauthorized expenses. “I recall that it is certain that Nicolas Sarkozy had no knowledge of this fraud by Bygmalion”, insisted his lawyer, recalling the position defended by the politician “namely his perfect innocence”. However, the justice considered that the presidential candidate in 2012 had been “warned in writing” of the risks of overspending, but had continued to organize meetings financed by fraudulent means.
If he is sentenced to prison for half of his sentence, Nicolas Sarkozy will not be incarcerated. The Court of Appeal ordered “the principle of adjustment of the firm part of the sentence” thus avoiding the former President of the Republic from being placed behind bars. To agree and implement the modification of the sentence, Nicolas Sarkozy will be summoned by a sentence enforcement judge within 30 days from this Wednesday, February 14.
But in addition to the adjustment, it is the cassation appeal decided by Nicolas Sarkozy which spares him the sentence imposed. Appeals to the Court of Cassation have, with some exceptions, a suspensive effect on the conviction until the decision is rendered by the Court of Cassation. The Bygmalion affair will therefore be concluded in a few months and the former head of state will know whether or not he must serve his sentence.
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy spent nearly 43 million euros, almost double the spending authorized by the Campaign Accounts Commission and set at 22.5 million. To circumvent the regulations, the UMP – now the Les Républicains party – had asked the communications company Bygmalion, with which it worked, to draw up false invoices which attributed the costs to the right-wing party and not to the presidential campaign of the former head of state.
During his appeal trial, which took place between November and December 2023, Nicolas Sarkozy always denied “any criminal responsibility” and pointed out “lies” concerning him. To clear his name, he accused those close to Jean-François Copé – who was head of the UMP at the time –, his cabinet and campaign director Jérôme Lavrilleux and the company Bygmalion of having enriched themselves. Jérôme Lavrilleux, the first defendant to have admitted the fraudulent expenses, was sentenced to two years in prison, 18 months of which were suspended, with a reduced prison sentence for forgery and use of forgery. As for the former managers of Bygmalion, Franck Attal and Guy Alves, they were respectively given 18 months and one year suspended prison sentences and are banned from managing a business for five years.
