On November 26, 2025, France’s highest court, the Cour de cassation, delivered a final and resounding verdict in a long-running saga: former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign would stand. The ruling—one year of imprisonment, with six months to be served firmly—marked the end of Sarkozy’s last legal avenue in the so-called Bygmalion affair, a case that has gripped the French public and cast a long shadow over the country’s political class.
According to reporting from Le Monde, the court’s decision confirmed the sentence handed down by the Paris Court of Appeal in February 2024. Sarkozy, now 70, was found responsible for benefiting from irregular campaign financing, though he was not prosecuted for the creation of false invoices. The judges determined that his 2012 campaign expenses soared to nearly 43 million euros—almost double the legal limit. To hide this ballooning cost, a double billing system was orchestrated within Sarkozy’s party, the UMP, using fictitious conventions as cover.
Sarkozy’s legal team, led by Patrice Spinosi and Emmanuel Piwnica, issued a terse statement in response to the final ruling: their client “takes note” of the now-irreversible decision. The court’s confirmation means that the former president will soon face the implementation of his sentence, though the specifics—whether via electronic bracelet or a semi-liberty arrangement—will be determined by the sentencing judge. It’s a far cry from the campaign trail, and a stark reminder of the legal perils that have dogged Sarkozy since his time in office.
He is not alone in facing the consequences. Three of Sarkozy’s co-defendants—Guillaume Lambert, his 2012 campaign director, as well as Éric Cesari and Pierre Chassat, both former UMP officials—also saw their appeals rejected by the high court. The Bygmalion affair, which has become shorthand in France for political excess and the stretching of ethical boundaries, continues to reverberate through the nation’s corridors of power.
Throughout the legal process, Sarkozy has remained defiant. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the accusations as “fables” and “lies.” Yet the verdicts have mounted. As Le Monde notes, this latest condemnation adds to an already heavy judicial burden: Sarkozy was previously sentenced to five years in prison for the alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 campaign. That case, which has not yet reached its final conclusion, saw him incarcerated for three weeks at the infamous La Santé prison before being released under judicial control on November 10, 2025. He now awaits an appeal trial scheduled for March 16, 2026.
But even as legal clouds gather, Sarkozy has found a way to shape the narrative—this time from behind bars. During his brief incarceration, he wrote a book titled Le Journal d’un prisonnier (Prisoner’s Diary), set for release on December 10, 2025. According to L’Obs, the book offers a blend of introspection, self-defense, and a dash of political storytelling, with the former president oscillating between soul-searching and finger-pointing. Kamini, a French commentator, recently reviewed the forthcoming work with a wry smile, noting its “mix of seriousness and irony” and describing how Sarkozy’s admissions sometimes morph into riddles, while his political acrobatics remain as deft as ever.
Kamini’s take, published on November 30, 2025, cuts to the heart of the matter: “The book mixes introspection, self-defense, and some deflections of blame, with political storytelling.” It’s a portrait of a man who, even in adversity, refuses to cede the spotlight. Each chapter, Kamini observes, is laced with a knowing wink, promising revelations but delivering them with a practiced politician’s flair for ambiguity.
French satirical writers have not missed the opportunity to poke fun at Sarkozy’s literary turn. One columnist compared his prison stint to a writer’s retreat, quipping that the former president’s time at La Santé was less a punishment than a “literary residency.” The book, written in just twenty days, is said to contain such lines as: “In prison, there is nothing to see, nothing to do.” Another excerpt laments, “The noise, alas, is constant,” revealing that Sarkozy, who may have hoped for a spiritual retreat, found only the ceaseless din of incarceration. These glimpses suggest a man oscillating between self-pity and bravado, with more than a hint of irony.
Public reaction in France has been a curious mix of outrage and amusement. As L’Obs notes, Sarkozy’s blend of claimed innocence and undeniable culpability has left the country both scandalized and, in a way, entertained. “France looks at him as it does the theft of a baroness’s jewel from the Louvre: scandalized, yet with a half-smile,” the columnist writes. There’s a sense that Sarkozy, ever the showman, knows exactly how to play to his audience—even when the stage is a prison cell.
The Bygmalion affair is only the latest chapter in a long, complicated saga. Sarkozy’s impatience and drive—traits that once propelled him to the highest office—are now cited as factors that led him to cut corners and take risks. In 2005, as interior minister, he was known for his tough talk about “cleaning up” France’s banlieues. In 2007, as a presidential candidate, he allegedly sought campaign funds from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, a move that has resulted in ongoing legal headaches and further tarnished his legacy.
Yet, despite (or perhaps because of) his legal woes, Sarkozy remains a figure of fascination in France’s collective imagination. Some see him as a tragic hero, others as a clever trickster. There is even talk, half in jest, that his next book might be titled Le Journal d’un mal-aimé (Diary of the Unloved), chronicling his latest round of judicial setbacks. Through it all, Sarkozy continues to protest his innocence, even as the evidence—and the verdicts—pile up.
What comes next for the former president? The sentencing judge will soon decide how Sarkozy serves his latest penalty. Meanwhile, the French public awaits the publication of his prison memoir, eager to see how he will spin his time behind bars. For now, Sarkozy remains at the center of a uniquely French drama, where politics, scandal, and literary flair are never far apart.
Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear: Nicolas Sarkozy’s story is far from over. As France watches with a mix of skepticism and intrigue, the former president continues to write his own script, undaunted by the weight of the law or the judgment of history.
