Though he is not the first modern French head of state in the dock -- his predecessor and political mentor Jacques Chirac was convicted of embezzlement -- Sarkozy is the first to face corruption charges.
He fought furiously for six years to have the case thrown out, denouncing "a scandal that will go down in history".
"I am not a crook," the 65-year-old, whose combative style made him one of France's most popular politicians, told BFM TV this month.
Prosecutors say Sarkozy promised the judge a plush job in Monaco in exchange for inside information on an inquiry into claims that Sarkozy accepted illicit payments from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.
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Nicolas Sarkozy's Corruption Trial Delayed By Pandemic...
ReplyDeleteNicolas Sarkozy was a hardline interior minister before being elected President of France in 2007. He failed to win re-election in 2012, losing to the Socialist Francois Hollande.