Prosecutors seek seven-year sentence for Sarkozy in campaign financing trial

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy arrives as he goes on trial over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in Paris, France (Thibault Camus/AP photo)

French prosecutors have requested a seven-year prison sentence and a 300,000-euro (around £250,000) fine for former president Nicolas Sarkozy, in connection with allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign was illegally financed by former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s government.

The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, known by its French acronym PNF, also called for a five-year ban on Sarkozy’s civic, civil and family rights — a measure that would bar him from holding elected office or serving in any public judicial role.