Nicolas Sarkozy He will ultimately not wear an electronic tag in the Bygmalion case. According to RTL, the judge overseeing sentencing at the Paris Judicial Court accepted his request for a sentence adjustment. The former president will be granted conditional release starting Thursday, May 7, 2026, a decision granted in part due to his age.
The sentence remains in place
This decision does not overturn Nicolas Sarkozy's conviction. It concerns only how his sentence will be carried out. In the Bygmalion case, related to the financing of his 2012 presidential campaign, the former head of state was sentenced to one year in prison, six months of which were to be served, for illegal campaign financing.
The bracelet scenario ruled out
The custodial portion of this sentence was initially to be served as house arrest with electronic monitoring. However, with this conditional release, Nicolas Sarkozy ultimately avoids wearing an electronic bracelet in this case.
A request to merge sentences was rejected.
Prior to this decision, the court had rejected his request to combine the sentences in the Bygmalion case with those in the so-called "wiretapping" or "Bismuth" case. This procedure could have allowed the sentence handed down in the Bygmalion case to be considered as absorbed by another sentence already served. Nicolas Sarkozy ultimately decided not to appeal this rejection, making the execution of the sentence final.
A possible measure after age 70
Under French law, a convicted person over the age of 70 can be granted parole without having necessarily served half of their sentence, under certain conditions. The court must, in particular, consider that their reintegration is assured and that they have a stable living environment.
