If convicted, Nicolas Sarkozy could face up to 10 years in prison for a ‘corruption pact’ with the late Libyan leader.

PARIS - Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial on Jan 6, on charges of having received millions of euros in illegal financing from Libya’s late strongman Muammar Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid.

The case also involves Gaddafi’s former chief of staff and treasurer, Bashir Saleh, who sought refuge in France during the Libyan civil war and then moved to South Africa, where he survived a shooting in 2018, before settling in the United Arab Emirates.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is standing trial over accusations he used Libyan cash to fund his 2007 presidential campaign, one of several legal battles the politician who once bestrode the world stage has faced over the past decade.

France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial over allegations he received millions from Libya for his 2007 successful presidential campaign, in the latest — and biggest — of a series of leg

Nicolas Sarkozy, who ruled France as a tough-talking right-wing president from 2007 to 2012, is seen by supporters as a dynamic saviour of his country but by detractors as a vulgar populist mired in corruption.