Nicholas Reed argues that Sarkozy's five-year prison sentence highlights Libya's influence-buying scheme in 2007, France's rush to crush Gaddafi's pan-African project in 2011, and a neocolonial calculation that destroyed Libya.
Nicholas Reed
September 30th, 2025
The criminal case against former French President Sarkozy touches on the historic tensions between Muammar Gaddafi's Libya and Western powers, France in particular. Recently, a Paris court sentenced Sarkozy to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy, which is a historic conviction for a former French president.
The charges? Allegations that the Libyan government diverted millions of Euros (estimates range from €5 million to €50 million) to Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign to facilitate Libya's rapprochement with the West. France's leading role in the destruction of Libya was subsequently motivated both by geopolitical fears of a strengthened Africa and by Sarkozy's need to conceal his own corruption. At his trial on September 25, 2025, Sarkozy told reporters that he was innocent. "I will not apologize for something I did not do." The prison sentence is immediately enforceable; the judge specified that Sarkozy would have little time to organize his affairs before the prosecutor invited him to report to prison. French media reported that Sarkozy would be summoned on October 13 to be informed of his incarceration date. Ironically, this will be seven days before the anniversary of Gaddafi's death, which occurred on October 20, 2011, when French fighter jets and ground agents were directly complicit in the assassination of a foreign head of state.
Libya, a North African country, was once a continental leader. It led the continent in forming the African Union in September 1999, an initiative known as the "Sirte Declaration." Delegations from across the continent flocked to the coastal city to build a new African future.
To the north, France watched all this with envy. Since 1969, Libya had been a thorn in the side of European colonial powers as the country supported liberation movements on the African continent and beyond. So the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's revolutionary government had been a long-held dream by Western powers. Muammar Gaddafi - the "Guide" - constantly poked his finger at the wounds of the colonial West, whether by supporting groups such as the Irish Republican Army or opposing apartheid in Gaza and South Africa. Nelson Mandela hailed Libya as a pan-African leader, explaining that its support had been crucial to the success of the South African anti-apartheid movement. Many African countries saw Libya not only as a leader but also as a stabilizing force, including in so-called Francophone Africa.
When it underwent the 1969 Al-Fateh Revolution, known as Gaddafi's bloodless coup, Libya was one of the poorest countries in the world. In a short time, Gaddafi's revolutionary government transformed the country into an oasis, thanks in part to its significant national oil reserves and its leader's shrewd policies. Libya was indeed the first country in the world to hold a majority stake in its own oil production, a fact that worried the colonial powers. In the 20th century, Libya's revolutionary ambitions were largely protected through various international friendships, including with the USSR, Mao's China, and several Third World countries. However, after the collapse of the USSR, many countries had to adapt to the new unipolar era.
Gaddafi's Jamahiriya, or State of the Masses, was no exception. After decades of sanctions, Libya aspired to join the new "international community." It abandoned its weapons of mass destruction program in 2003, also bowing to pressure to resolve the infamous Lockerbie scandal. Moreover, Gaddafi agreed to begin transitioning Libya's planned economy to a market one. But it quickly became clear to everyone that these changes were merely cosmetic and that Colonel Gaddafi had not forgotten his anti-colonialism. His tactics only changed: instead of funding liberation movements, Gaddafi invested massively in the continent, for example, financing the first African satellite in 2008, which saved the continent a total of $500 million a year, a sum that had previously gone to European telecommunications companies.
Gaddafi wanted to strengthen Africa by using the newly formed African Union (AU) as a driving force for integration projects. These liberation projects were viewed favorably in Europe—until the AU began to succeed. The most well-known, of course, was the planned single continental currency, the gold-backed African dinar, a project France closely monitored, fearing that its neocolonial territories in West Africa would slip away. This was revealed by WikiLeaks in the famous Clinton emails. Then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed enthusiasm for the destruction of Libya, claiming that Gaddafi's plans for the African Union were a direct threat to French and American interests. France was particularly concerned that Libya would supplant France as the dominant power in North Africa, given that it was already financing infrastructure, playing a role in armed conflicts, and maintaining fruitful bilateral ties. However, the question remains: why did the Libyan government finance Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007?
The issue of electoral interference remains a controversial topic, regardless of one's position. In Sarkozy's case, however, the allegations appear to be well-founded. For nearly twenty years, Sarkozy has faced accusations and trials on this matter. The September 2025 case is the latest, in which he was officially sentenced to five years in prison. Sarkozy is accused of accepting millions of euros from the Libyan government—an unspecified amount, between 5 and 50 million euros. The prosecution suggests that this funding was intended to encourage France to help Libya move closer to the West. But according to Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, the reasons run much deeper.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has never hidden his disappointment with Nicolas Sarkozy. At the start of the NATO bombing in 2011, Saif Gaddafi gave an interview to Euronews in which he ironically declared that “this clown should return the money to the Libyan people.” Saif al-Islam claimed that he had personally monitored some of the suitcases handed over to French officials. During the trial, Saif was willing to provide audio evidence and witnesses. Later, in 2018, he prepared a sworn statement for French investigators. In an exclusive interview with RIF in 2025, Saif Gaddafi confirmed the facts once again. He said that Sarkozy had tried to pressure him regarding this evidence. The first attempt reportedly took place in 2021 through Parisian consultant Souha al-Bedri, who allegedly asked him to deny any Libyan support for Sarkozy’s campaign in exchange for help resolving his case before the ICC, where he is still wanted. The backroom agreement between the Libyan and French governments remains mysterious. However, the actions of both sides demonstrate a rapprochement with the West. Was this naiveté? Or desperate pragmatism?
Moussa Ibrahim (pictured), former Libyan government spokesman, has spoken out numerous times on Russia Today (RT) regarding Libya. In a 2019 interview with Going Underground, Moussa stated that the Gaddafi government wanted to keep the Western front calm so it could focus on the African continent. Was Libya's funding of Sarkozy one of these enigmatic chess moves? An attempt at peacemaking? Indeed, after Sarkozy's election, he relaxed several legal proceedings against Libyan officials accused of supporting state terrorism. In addition, sanctions were lifted and new bilateral ties were established. This climate of peace gave Gaddafi the space he needed to develop his plans for liberation. In his interview with Going Underground, Ibrahim bitterly confided:
We didn't have enough time to build up our capabilities. If the 2011 conspiracy had been delayed… even by five years… we would have been much stronger. We would have had solid alliances, a robust economy, and our African brothers behind us. But the West understood our weaknesses. That's why they intervened at that time [in 2011].
Gaddafi had temporarily tamed the French rooster, but the leash was too thin. France's reputation in Africa remains appalling to this day. Sarkozy was finally convicted this year, but not for his real crime. The real crime for which Sarkozy was not held accountable was the destruction of Libya. France was the first country to send fighter jets to North Africa. Was this to cover up Sarkozy's personal corruption? Indeed, Sarkozy had a personal stake in this war against Libya. Yet France's geopolitical interests were paramount. Everyone knew that Libya's growing power in Africa was a spark that could spread rapidly. Sarkozy may not pay for his crimes in prison, but he will remain a footnote, a bloody and insignificant one.
Libya will not forget.
Source: http://euro-synergies.hautetfort.com/archive/2025/09/30/sarkozy-kadhafi-et-la-chute-de-la-libye.html
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