Sarkozy: French verdict due in ex-president's corruption trial

The verdict is expected shortly in the trial of French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy and two former associates accused of corruption.

Mr Sarkozy, 66, is accused of trying to bribe a magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, by offering a prestigious job in Monaco in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party.

Mr Sarkozy denies wrongdoing. His ex-lawyer Thierry Herzog and Mr Azibert are on trial with him.

Mr Sarkozy faces a possible jail term.

A guilty verdict would be a legal landmark for post-war France. The only precedent was the trial of Mr Sarkozy's right-wing predecessor Jacques Chirac, who got a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for having arranged bogus jobs at Paris City Hall for political allies when he was Paris mayor. Chirac died in 2019.

Prosecutors are seeking a four-year jail sentence for Mr Sarkozy, half of which would be suspended.

The case centres on conversations between Mr Azibert and Mr Herzog, which were taped by investigators looking into claims that Mr Sarkozy accepted illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

Mr Sarkozy is also due to go on trial in a separate case, from 17 March to 15 April, which relates to the so-called Bygmalion affair. Mr Sarkozy is accused of having fraudulently overspent in his 2012 presidential campaign. He had served as president since 2007 - but his 2012 re-election bid was unsuccessful.

Nonetheless, he remains popular in right-wing circles, a year away from a presidential election.