Confusion over Nicolas Sarkozy's sentences: the court rejects the former president's request regarding the Bismuth and Bygmalion cases

Last February, Nicolas Sarkozy requested that his six-month suspended prison sentence in the Bygmalion case be considered as served, given that he wore an electronic tag between February and May 2025 in the Bismuth case. This request was denied. The court ruled this Monday, March 9, on the request to combine Nicolas Sarkozy's sentences in the Bismuth and Bygmalion cases. The former president's request was rejected by the court, BFMTV learned from a source close to the case. On Monday, February 23, during a closed hearing, the former head of state requested that his six-month prison sentence, which could be served under alternative arrangements, in the Bygmalion case be considered as having been served due to his wearing of an electronic tag last year in the Bismuth affair. The merging of sentences is provided for by Article 132-4 of the Penal Code. Such a request is only possible if the proceedings are separate, the offenses committed concurrently—that is, successively before a final conviction—and the sentences of the same nature have become final. The appeal trial for Libyan financing begins soon. Nicolas Sarkozy now has the option of appealing this decision. His lawyer declined to comment immediately, as did his entourage, contacted by BFMTV. But at this stage, the court considers that he must serve his six-month suspended prison sentence, which can be served under house arrest with an electronic tag, handed down after his conviction for illegal campaign financing. In this case, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted for allowing his campaign finances to spiral out of control in 2012, with a double-billing system implemented by the Bygmalion agency, which gave its name to the affair. As a reminder, starting Monday, March 16, the former president will be retried on appeal in the case concerning the alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 campaign.