(FILES) Former French presidency general secretary and former Interior minister Claude Gueant (C) leaves the courtroom on the last day of his and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's trial on charges of illegal campaign financing from Libya for Sarkozy's successful 2007 presidential bid, at the Tribunal de Paris courthouse in Paris, on April 8, 2025. In September 2025, the Paris criminal court handed down a heavy sentence against Nicolas Sarkozy, punishing "corruption at the highest level" of "exceptional gravity" in order "to obtain Libya's commitment to provide financial support" for his 2007 presidential campaign. Nicolas Sarkozy, who has always disputed this account, will now have to challenge on appeal the findings of the trial judges, who identified him as both an actor in and a beneficiary of a criminal conspiracy starting on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP via Getty Images)