Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy hugs supermodel spouse earlier than going into jail
The former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been snapped hugging his supermodel wife before heading to prison in France.
Sarkozy is due to start a five-year sentence today after a court in Paris found him guilty last month on a key charge in his trial for alleged illegal campaign financing by the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favours. But it cleared him of three other charges — including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds.
At 9:45am Paris time, Sarkozy entered La Santé Prison, one of the three main prisons of the Paris area, where he will reside for the next few years. Inmates were reportedly heard shouting ‘Oh bienvenue Sarkozy!’ (‘Oh welcome Sarkozy!) and ‘Y a Sarkozy!’ (‘There’s Sarkozy!’) from their prison cells, as the former French president arrived at the establishment.
Sarkozy’s imprisonment marks the first time in history that a former French president will serve time behind bars. As he left his home in western Paris, Sarkozy was accompanied by his wife, former supermodel Carla Bruni, as he made his way to prison to meet the 10:00 am deadline to surrender.
The 70-year-old took to his social medial before surrending to proclaim that he is ‘an innoncent man’ being ‘locked up’, and he promised his supproters that ‘the truth will prevail’. He further added that ‘the price to pay will have been crushing’, just an hour before his scheduled incarceration.
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