The Court of Appeal in Paris began the trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy regarding the excessive funds of his election campaign.

The verdict in the case, which became known as the "Bygmalion" trial, was issued in 2021. Sarkozy was sentenced to one year of house arrest wearing an electronic bracelet.

The former president appealed the verdict.

As stated in the indictment, Sarkozy spent 42.7 million euros on his 2012 election campaign, while the allowed amount was limited to 22.5 million euros.

The ruling mentioned that Sarkozy knew the legal spending limit and was warned about the possibility of exceeding it. However, he continued his election rallies.

In total, 14 people were involved in the case, which was known as the "Bygmalion" trial in the media (named after the public relations agency that provided media support for the election campaign).

The prosecution also confirmed that Sarkozy's campaign used forged invoices sponsored by the agency to hide the excessive spending.

The public prosecutor's office demanded a 6-month prison sentence for the former head of state, 6 months suspended sentence, and a fine of 3750 euros.

The court sentenced the remaining accused in this case to prison terms ranging from two to three years, part of which must be served under surveillance. They will also have to serve their actual sentences at home under electronic monitoring.

The only accused who admitted to hiding the excessive expenses of the presidential campaign was the deputy head of Sarkozy's campaign headquarters at that time, Jérôme Lavrilleux. The court sentenced him to three years in prison, one year of which is suspended.