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France’s Sarkozy faces new trial over 2012 campaign finance
FILE - In this April 28, 2012 file photo, France's President and candidate for re-election in 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy, gestures as he delivers a speech during a campaign meeting in Cournon-d'Auvergne, central France. Former President Sarkozy is scheduled to go on trial Wednesday, March 17, on charges that his unsuccessful reelection bid in 2012 was illegally financed. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)PARIS – The trial of French former President Nicolas Sarkozy on charges that his unsuccessful reelection bid in 2012 was illegally financed has been postponed for two months. However, the trial was suspended and postponed until May 20 because one of the defense lawyers has been hospitalized with COVID-19. Two weeks ago, Sarkozy was convicted of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.
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Sarkozy rules out French presidential run after conviction
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the courtroom Monday, March 1, 2021 in Paris. A Paris court on Monday found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence. The Paris court found that Sarkozy and his two codefendants sealed in 2014 a “pact of corruption,” based on “consistent and serious evidence." “I had said I won’t run in the presidential election, I’m maintaining it," he was quoted as saying. Sarkozy will face another trial later this month over suspicions regarding his 2012 presidential campaign, which ended in victory for Socialist rival Francois Hollande.
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France's Sarkozy convicted of corruption, sentenced to jail
The verdict is expected in a landmark corruption and influence-peddling trial that has put French former President Nicolas Sarkozy at risk of a prison sentence if he is convicted. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – A Paris court found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling on Monday and sentenced him to a year in prison. The ruling marks the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has been convicted of corruption — and given a prison term. The court found that Sarkozy and his co-defendants sealed a “pact of corruption,” based on “consistent and serious evidence”. AdIn one phone call with Herzog, Sarkozy said of Azibert: “I’ll make him move up.
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French prosecutors seek jail in Sarkozy corruption trial
PARIS – French prosecutors on Tuesday requested two years of prison and a two-year suspended sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a landmark corruption and influence peddling trial in Paris. The 65-year-old Sarkozy is accused of having tried to illegally obtain information from a senior magistrate in 2014 about an investigation involving him. Prosecutors requested the same sentence for Sarkozy's codefendants — his lawyer and friend Thierry Herzog and magistrate Gilbert Azibert. It’s the first time Sarkozy, president from 2007-2012, is facing trial, though the conservative politician is the target of multiple investigations. “I have has never committed any act of corruption — never," Sarkozy told the court Monday.
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French ex-President Sarkozy's trial for corruption suspended
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the courtroom, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – The trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling was suspended Monday less than two hours after it started, to allow a medical report on one of the defendants. This is the first trial for the 65-year-old politician, who has faced several other judicial investigations since leaving office in 2012. He stands trial in a Paris court along with his lawyer Thierry Herzog, 65, and the magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, 73. They face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of 1 million euros ($1.2 million.)
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France's Sarkozy seeks closure of Libyan corruption case
Sarkozy, who denies wrongdoing, has been given preliminary corruption charges in the case, under investigation since 2013. Investigators are examining claims that Gadhafi’s regime secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros overall for his winning 2007 French campaign. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors. Sarkozy then put France at the forefront of NATO-led airstrikes that helped rebel fighters topple Gadhafi’s regime in 2011. Sarkozy and Takieddine have faced other legal troubles in France.
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French ex-prime minister found guilty of fraud
PARIS A Paris court has found French former prime minister Francois Fillon guilty of having used public funds to pay his wife and children for work they never performed. The work had brought the family more than 1 million euros ($1.08 million) since 1998. Fillon, who was Frances prime minister from 2007 to 2012, then left French politics. A Paris court is set to give or may postpone a verdict in the fraud trial of former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday. Fillon, once the youngest lawmaker at the National Assembly at the age of 27, served as prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2012.