Nicolas Sarkozy to Appear in Court

World News Rudolph Rodriquez
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Paris Prosecutor requested that former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the 13 co-defendants in the case that concern possible illegal campaign financing his re-election lost to 2012 to appear in court.

He is alleged to have exceeded the legal ceiling of election expenses during the 2012 presidential campaign, according to some judicial sources.

Interrogated on 4 September 2015 by the police, Sarkozy denied being involved in the system for issuing false invoices.

“Prosecutor asked the trial of all the defendants,” the source said. It is up to the judges to rule on this request.

A lawsuit could complicate Sarkozy’s campaign to win the French presidency in 2017’s elections.

The investigation is targeting alleged false invoices worth € 18.5 million issued by the company Bygmalion to cover the exceeding budget of the legal campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy.

The statutory limit campaign of the Union for a Popular Movement, Sarkozy’s former party, was set at 22.5 million euros.

Sarkozy was twice the interior minister of France from 2002 to 2004 in Raffarin’s office, and from 2005 to March 27, 2007 in the cabinet of de Villepin. On 28 November 2004 he was President of the UMP party successor to the RPR party, founded in 1974 by Jacques Chirac.

In the first round, held on April 22, he won 31.18% of votes and was ranked as the top position, ahead of Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal, who obtained 25.87% of votes. The second round took place on May 6.

Nicolas Sarkozy achieved the best results in the Alpes-Maritimes department, where he was voted by 43.59% of voters (compared to 17.9% obtained by his rival). In Paris he was preferred by 35% of voters (32% Mrs. Royal).