The trial in the so-called case of alleged Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign begins on Monday. The former President of the Republic is on trial for corruption, with 12 other defendants including three former ministers.
This is THE trial at the start of 2025. Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself in court from Monday for the case of financing his 2007 presidential campaign. A long trial which will last four months, at the rate of three after noon a week to judge a sprawling case, the investigation of which lasted ten years.
On the dock there will be the former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy, three former ministers Brice Hortefeux, Claude Guéant and Eric Woerth, intermediaries and ex-Libyan officials.
The central question is whether Nicolas Sarkozy’s victorious presidential campaign in 2007 was partly financed by a foreign dictatorship, namely the Gaddafi regime.
An accusation strongly rejected by the former head of state, but sufficiently substantiated according to the national financial prosecutor’s office and the investigating judges to justify a trial which will have an international impact: more than 200 journalists requested accreditation, including a third for foreign media.
The indiscreets: The famous trial of Nicolas Sarkozy, accused of having financed his electoral campaign by a foreign dictatorship – 02/01
Ziad Takieddine absent
The hearings will take place in the largest room of the Paris court, but they will also be broadcast on video in a second room accessible to the public.
The debates, which promise to be vigorous, will be chaired by an experienced magistrate, who notably presided over the first trial of the Fillon couple. Facing her, four lawyers to defend Nicolas Sarkozy. And to support the accusation, three magistrates from the national financial prosecutor’s office.
A notable absence in all this: the sulphurous Franco-Lebanese intermediary Ziad Takieddine, who has made multiple statements in this matter, has been a refugee in Beirut for more than four years. He will still be judged despite his absence.
Guillaume Biet (edited by JA)
