PARIS: France’s top court said Wednesday it will rule in November on embattled former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s final appeal over illegal campaign financing in 2012, in a case that could cement his second criminal conviction.
Sarkozy, who remains an influential figure on the right, has been embroiled in legal problems since losing the 2012 presidential election.
Last month, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison over a scheme for late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential run. He will be the first French postwar leader to serve jail time.
Sarkozy has denied the charges and appealed that conviction, though under French law his sentence will be implemented even as his appeal plays out. He will learn on Monday when his prison term will begin.
Separately, the right-wing politician in 2021 received a one-year jail sentence in the so-called “Bygmalion affair” for the financing of his 2012 presidential campaign.
An appeals court in 2024 confirmed the conviction but lightened his sentence to six months with another six months suspended. He has appealed that ruling.
In November, Sarkozy will learn if his conviction is overturned or confirmed.
On Wednesday, the country’s highest appeals court examined his final appeal in the case.
If the Court of Cassation upholds Sarkozy’s conviction in its ruling expected on November 26 — as demanded by the prosecutor’s office at the hearing Wednesday — he will serve a six-month term with an electronic bracelet.
The former head of state was sentenced on charges that his right-wing party worked with a public relations firm, Bygmalion, to hide the true cost of his 2012 re-election bid.
Prosecutors said Sarkozy spent nearly 43 million euros on his 2012 campaign, almost double the permitted amount of 22.5 million euros.
Sarkozy has accused Bygmalion of having enriched itself behind his back and dismissed the allegations against him as “lies.”
His lawyers on Wednesday reiterated that stance.
“Nothing was materially established by the court of appeal regarding active involvement of President Sarkozy” in the overspending of campaign accounts, said one of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Emmanuel Piwnica.
Sarkozy’s latest hearing comes at a sensitive moment for France, with the country thrown into uncertainty by the shock resignation of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu after less than a month in power.
French court sets November ruling in Sarkozy campaign finance appeal
https://arab.news/mer55
French court sets November ruling in Sarkozy campaign finance appeal
- Sarkozy has been embroiled in legal problems since losing the 2012 presidential election
- In November, Sarkozy will learn if his conviction is overturned or confirmed
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
