France’s political landscape was rocked this week as the nation’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, delivered a final and definitive verdict against former president Nicolas Sarkozy, upholding his conviction for illegal campaign financing during his 2012 re-election bid. The ruling, handed down on November 27, 2025, marks the culmination of a years-long legal saga that has gripped the country and cast a long shadow over one of its most influential postwar leaders.
Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, now finds his legacy indelibly marked by what has become known as the “Bygmalion affair.” Prosecutors revealed that his campaign spending soared to nearly €43 million—almost double the legal limit of €22.5 million set by French electoral law. This excess was not a mere accounting error. According to China Daily, Sarkozy’s team employed methods such as falsifying accounts and using a double-billing system, in collaboration with the public relations firm Bygmalion, to conceal the true scale of their expenditures from regulators.
While the court did not find Sarkozy directly involved in orchestrating the fraudulent accounting, he was nonetheless held responsible as the candidate who benefited from the illegal financing. The Court of Cassation stated that under Article L113-1 of the electoral code, illegal campaign financing has occurred when a candidate "knows that they have exceeded the spending limit authorized by law." The court found that Sarkozy’s repeated demands for large, American-style rallies—despite warnings from his accountants—demonstrated clear awareness and disregard for the legal boundaries.
The saga began with a first trial in September 2021, where Sarkozy was found guilty and immediately appealed. The Paris Court of Appeal reaffirmed the conviction in February 2024, sentencing him to one year in prison, with six months suspended and the remaining six months eligible to be served outside prison, such as through electronic tagging. Sarkozy’s lawyers mounted a final appeal to the Cour de Cassation, but the court rejected all grounds, including claims about improper judicial participation and discrepancies in expense estimation between the Constitutional Council and the appeal court. The court pointed out that expenses had been deliberately concealed from the council, and the appeals court had successfully traced them.
The verdict means Sarkozy, now 70, is “definitively convicted.” According to The Guardian, he is the first postwar French leader to serve time behind bars—a distinction cemented by his recent 20-day stint in Paris’s La Santé prison for a separate conviction related to his 2007 campaign and alleged illegal funding from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was released on November 10, 2025, under judicial supervision, pending an appeals trial in that case.
But Sarkozy’s legal woes do not end there. In December 2024, France’s highest court upheld yet another conviction, this time for corruption and abuse of power, sentencing him to three years in prison—two years suspended, one year to be served under house arrest. As reported by China Daily, on September 25, 2025, he was also sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly accepting illegal campaign funding from Gaddafi, a case that remains under appeal.
Despite these cascading legal setbacks, Sarkozy’s influence in right-wing French politics remains palpable. As RFI notes, President Emmanuel Macron received Sarkozy for discussions before his most recent imprisonment, underscoring the former leader’s enduring sway. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, a former protégé, even visited Sarkozy in jail—a move later barred by the courts as a condition of Sarkozy’s release. These gestures reflect the complex reality of a political figure who, even as he faces mounting convictions, continues to command respect and attention from parts of France’s political elite.
Throughout the proceedings, Sarkozy has steadfastly denied any criminal responsibility. He has called the allegations "lies," maintaining that he did not participate in the double-billing system. His lawyers, Patrice Spinosi and Emmanuel Piwnica, told Agence France-Presse that Sarkozy had "taken note of the Court of Cassation’s decision," but the former president himself has remained defiant in the public eye. Two weeks after his release from prison in November 2025, Sarkozy announced plans to publish a book detailing his experience behind bars—a rare move for a former head of state and a signal that he intends to shape the narrative of his downfall.
The Bygmalion affair, as it has come to be known, stands as a cautionary tale in modern French politics. Prosecutors argued that Sarkozy’s relentless pursuit of high-cost rallies and spectacle-driven campaigning was aimed at countering his Socialist challenger François Hollande, whose "Mr Normal" persona was resonating with voters. The excesses of the campaign, facilitated by Bygmalion’s creative accounting, ultimately proved to be Sarkozy’s undoing. As The Guardian observed, the case reflects France’s determination to uphold campaign finance laws regardless of a candidate’s stature or influence.
The Court of Cassation’s ruling is not just a personal blow to Sarkozy; it is a statement about the strength and independence of the French judiciary. The court’s role was not to reconsider the facts but to ensure that the law was correctly applied—a principle it upheld unequivocally. The verdict sends a clear message: accountability in politics is not optional, and even the highest officeholders are subject to the rule of law.
For Sarkozy, the consequences are profound and multifaceted. He faces a one-year prison sentence, with six months suspended and the possibility of serving the remainder through electronic tagging. Each conviction chips away at the reputation of a man who once stood at the pinnacle of French politics, and the prospect of further legal battles looms large. Yet, his continued engagement with political allies and his forthcoming memoir suggest that he is not ready to fade quietly into history.
For the French public, the spectacle of a former president brought low by repeated legal defeats is both sobering and unprecedented. Sarkozy’s journey from the Élysée Palace to the prison cell encapsulates the unpredictable turns of political fortune—and the enduring importance of accountability in a democracy. As future candidates contemplate their own campaigns, the lessons of the Bygmalion affair will surely weigh heavily on their minds.
Sarkozy’s conviction stands as a watershed moment for French politics, a vivid reminder that no one, not even a former president, is above the law. The meticulous application of campaign finance regulations in his case highlights the resilience of France’s democratic institutions—and the ongoing tension between political ambition and legal boundaries that will continue to shape the country’s future.
