French court grants ex-President Sarkozy conditional early release

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been granted conditional early release in connection with his sentence for overspending during the 2012 presidential election campaign, according to RTL, citing the Paris Court of Appeal.

The court approved Sarkozy’s request for eased sentencing conditions, meaning he will no longer be required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet while serving the six-month custodial portion of his sentence.

The case, widely known as the Bygmalion affair, centred on allegations of illegal financing during Sarkozy’s 2012 re-election campaign. The scandal was named after the Bygmalion public relations agency, which handled the campaign and was founded in 2008 by businessmen close to Sarkozy ally Jean-François Copé.

The investigation began in February 2014 after French weekly Le Point reported that Bygmalion had allegedly inflated the cost of campaign services. Investigators said the campaign and the agency used false invoices to conceal overspending by billing Sarkozy’s political party, the Union for a Popular Movement — renamed The Republicans in 2015 — for party events unrelated to the election.

According to investigators, Sarkozy’s campaign spent €42.8 million, roughly double the legal limit permitted under French law. Sarkozy was formally charged in February 2016 with knowingly exceeding campaign finance limits.

In February 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal found Sarkozy guilty of illegal campaign financing and sentenced him to one year in prison, including six months to be served and six months suspended.

By Tamilla Hasanova