PARIS – French former President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to go on trial Wednesday on charges that his unsuccessful reelection bid in 2012 was illegally financed.
The new case is scheduled to open two weeks after he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling in another case, a decision he has appealed.
However, the new trial is likely to be quickly suspended and postponed to a later date because one of the defense lawyers has been hospitalized with COVID-19.
The 66-year-old Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, is facing allegations that he spent almost twice the maximum authorized amount — 22.5 million euros ($26.8 million) — in his 2012 reelection bid, which he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.