Paris, 10 November 2025 (dpa/MIA) - France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy can leave prison and serve his five-year sentence under judicial supervision pending his appeal in a criminal conspiracy case, a Paris appeals court ruled Monday.

A lower court had convicted Sarkozy in September of participating in a criminal organization in connection with alleged campaign finances from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi.

The 70-year-old was ordered to report to prison on Oct. 21, despite his team having launched an immediate appeal against the conviction, and has spent the past three weeks behind bars at Paris' La Santé prison.

Sarkozy applied for conditional release immediately after starting his sentence. In France, such a provision applies to inmates aged 70 and older, allowing them to serve their sentence outside prison under certain conditions.

The Libya affair revolves around allegations that Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign received illegal funds from the Gaddafi regime.

While the Paris criminal court found no evidence of illegal campaign funds, it concluded in its ruling that the conservative politician and close ally of Gaddafi had at least attempted to obtain funds from the Libyan leader.