In this file photo taken on June 21, 2019 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech as he attends the conference marking the fiftieth anniversary of the election of Georges Pompidou to the Presidency of the French Republic: “With Georges Pompidou, think France: inheritances and perspectives” in Paris. Thomas SAMSON / AFP.
The trial was ordered last year after his lawyers failed with legal manoeuvres to avoid prosecution. If convicted he risks a one-year prison sentence. But Sarkozy, 65, has claimed he was unaware of a fraud he says was orchestrated by executives at the public relations firm Bygmalion. In October, Sarkozy will become the country’s first former head of state to stand trial on corruption charges, in a case where he is accused of trying to secure classified information from a judge.