Nicolas Sarkozy, 71, is accused of having struck a secret deal with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in the run-up to the 2007 presidential election in which the latter would help him fund his campaign. In exchange, Sarkozy would help restore Gaddafi’s international image after Tripoli was blamed for bombing a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, as well as another over Niger in 1989, killing hundreds of passengers.
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations against him are politically motivated.
Read more'I'm innocent': Former president Sarkozy challenges conviction over alleged Libya funding
The three prosecutors leading the case had asked the judges to find Sarkozy guilty on all counts, including corruption and the illegal financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential bid – which he won.
Prosecutors had also requested seven years in Sarkozy's first trial on charges of seeking to acquire campaign funding from Libya, corruption, illegal campaign financing, and receiving misappropriated Libyan public funds.
In September last year, a lower court found the right-wing politician guilty on criminal conspiracy charges but acquitted him of corruption and personally accepting illegal campaign financing.
The case saw Sarkozy become modern France’s first president to have gone to prison. He served 20 days before he was released pending the appeal.
One of Sarkozy's lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, told the press his client was innocent.
"There was no financing of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign by Libya," he said.
A verdict is expected on November 30. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison. If that happens, his last resort will be to appeal to France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation.
Sarkozy has faced a raft of accusations since leaving office, all of which he has denied. He has already received two definitive convictions in other cases – linked to overspending in his failed 2012 reelection bid, and later trying to extract favours from a judge.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)