Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has gone on trial in Paris accused of taking millions of euros in illegal funds from late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 election campaign.
In return, prosecutors say Sarkozy promised to help Gaddafi fight his reputation as a pariah to Western countries.
Sarkozy, 69, was president of France from 2007 to 2012.
He has always denied the allegations, saying they were leveled against him by people motivated to bring him down.
The investigation began in 2013, two years after Seif al-Islam, son of the then Libyan leader, first accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father's campaign finance money.
The following year, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takiedin – who had long acted as a mediator between France and the Middle East – said he had written proof that Sarkozy's campaign had been “profusely” financed by Tripoli and that the 50 million euros (43 million pounds ) the value of the payments continued after he became president.
Twelve other people – accused of concocting the Gaddafi pact – are on trial alongside Sarkozy. They all deny the allegations.
Sarkozy's wife, the Italian-born former supermodel and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was accused last year of concealing evidence related to the Gaddafi case and associating with offenders to commit fraud, both of which she denies.
Since losing his re-election bid in 2012, Sarkozy has been the subject of several criminal investigations.
He is also appealing a February 2024 ruling that convicted him guilty of overspending in his 2012 re-election campaignthen hires a PR firm to cover it up. He received a one-year sentence, with six months suspended.
In 2021 he was found guilty of attempting to bribe a judge in 2014. and became the first former French president to receive a prison sentence. In December, the appeals court in Paris ruled that it could serves his time at home wearing a tag instead of going to jail.
Sarkozy was not wearing the tag when he arrived at the Paris court on Monday morning.
However, this is only because the details of this sentence have not yet been worked out.
It is likely that in the course of this three-month trial on the so-called connection with Libya, the former president will appear with the device.
The case will continue until April 10. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison.