Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy appeared in court on Tuesday and denied any role in the alleged illegal financing of his 2012 re-election campaign.
A Paris court will determine if Mr Sarkozy was aware of a system of false invoices allegedly intended to cover up election overspending.
The former president, 66, is accused of spending almost twice the legal maximum of 22.5 million euros ($27.5m) on the presidential race he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.
The trial began last month, but on Tuesday Mr Sarkozy made his first appearance.
“You have in front of you someone whose life has been dedicated to politics for 40 years,” he told the court.
Mr Sarkozy said he was the political leadership of the campaign but was not involved in organisational or logistical details.
He said that as the incumbent president fighting for re-election he had other priorities, including newspaper interviews, TV appearances and more than 40 rallies between mid-February and May 2012.
He said he “never” gave any direct instruction to service providers in charge of the organisation of his rallies because his team did that.
His comments were in response to an investigative magistrate’s conclusions that Mr Sarkozy and his team decided to hold “spectacular and expensive rallies” in 2012, contributing to the alleged campaign cost of 42.8m euros.
The investigation did not establish whether Mr Sarkozy took an active part in the process or ordered fraudulent actions himself.
Twelve other people and the company that organised the campaign rallies face charges ranging from forgery to breach of trust, fraud and complicity in illegal campaign financing.
The proceedings got under way less than three months after Mr Sarkozy was convicted of corruption and influence-peddling. He has appealed that verdict.
A%20fact%20box
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20car%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMcLaren%20P1%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20football%20team%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWest%20Bromwich%20Albion%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20cuisine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndian%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPEC SHEET
Display: 4.7" Retina HD, 1334 x 750, 625 nits, 1400:1, True Tone, P3
Chip: Apple A15 Bionic, 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Camera: 12MP, f/1.8, 5x digital zoom, Smart HDR, Deep Fusion
Video: 4K @ 24/30/60fps, full HD @ 30/60fps, HD @ 30 fps
Front camera: 7MP, f/2.2, Smart HDR, Deep Fusion; HD video @ 30fps
Battery: Up to 15 hours video, 50 hours audio; 50% fast charge in 30 minutes with 20W charger; wireless charging
Biometrics: Touch ID
Durability: IP67, dust, water resistant up to 1m for 30 minutes
Price: From Dh1,849
Test factbox
- Fact 1
- Fact 2
- Fact 3
Factsbox%20test%20-%20Heading
%3Cp%3EFactsbox%20test%20-%20body%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
however,
as the jagged, rocky heights that surround it block out the sun.
Colours mute and continue growing dimmer until the sun sets unseen
beyond the Hajar
Mountains.
In numbers
3.2%
Dubai’s growth in the first six months of the year
7.8%
The transport and storage sector’s growth in Q2
2.5%
The manufacturing sector’s growth in the second quarter
Test
- Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
- A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
- Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
- Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Facts you should know about
Blah blah
BBBB
CCCCCCCCCCC
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Trees in garden
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
factsbox heading
content content content content content content content content content
Test Something Contentes
Aenean urna tortor, faucibus nec ornare eget, placerat sit amet nisl. Nullam vitae ultricies ex. Integer quis ornare velit.
Donec sollicitudin placerat risus, sed accumsan felis laoreet eu.
Vestibulum tempus malesuada nisi sodales ullamcorper.
Donec dolor ante, tempus et rutrum nec, semper nec justo. Quisque accumsan semper mattis. Morbi commodo tincidunt luctus. Praesent fermentum leo fermentum orci elementum pulvinar.
Test Factsbox for New Hotfix - Special Chars are Special
Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.
Testing%20Facts%20Box
%3Cp%3E%F0%9F%91%BB%20Boo%20Hoo%20%F0%9F%91%BB%0D%3Cbr%3Ehttps%3A%2F%2Fflourish.studio%2Fexamples%2F%0D%3Cbr%3ESome%20link%20hidden%20under%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Farts-culture%2Fart%2Ftake-the-quiz-how-well-do-you-know-the-middle-eastern-art-world-1.1012360%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Etext%20%3C%2Fa%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FactsBox%20Content
%3Cp%3ERisus%20at%20ultrices%20mi%20tempus%20imperdiet%20nulla%20malesuada%20pellentesque.%20Potenti%20nullam%20ac%20tortor%20vitae.%20Sit%20amet%20nulla%20facilisi%20morbi%20tempus%20iaculis%20urna%20id%20volutpat.%20Convallis%20posuere%20morbi%20leo%20urna%20molestie.%20Et%20malesuada%20fames%20ac%20turpis%20egestas%20integer%20eget.%20Rhoncus%20aenean%20vel%20elit%20scelerisque%20mauris%20pellentesque%20pulvinar%20pellentesque.%20Rhoncus%20mattis%20rhoncus%20urna%20neque%20viverra%20justo%20nec.%20Erat%20nam%20at%20lectus%20urna%20duis%20convallis%20convallis.%20Purus%20semper%20eget%20duis%20at%20tellus.%20Viverra%20vitae%20congue%20eu%20consequat%20ac.%20Orci%20a%20scelerisque%20purus%20semper%20eget%20duis%20at%20tellus%20at.%20Ante%20in%20nibh%20mauris%20cursus.%20Eget%20aliquet%20nibh%20praesent%20tristique%20magna%20sit%20amet.%20Elit%20pellentesque%20habitant%20morbi%20tristique%20senectus%20et.%20Tristique%20sollicitudin%20nibh%20sit%20amet%20commodo%20nulla%20facilisi%20nullam%20vehicula.%20Faucibus%20ornare%20suspendisse%20sed%20nisi%20lacus%20sed%20viverra%20tellus.%20Varius%20duis%20at%20consectetur%20lorem.%20Varius%20quam%20quisque%20id%20diam%20vel%20quam%20elementum%20pulvinar.%20Praesent%20semper%20feugiat%20nibh%20sed%20pulvinar%20proin%20gravida%20hendrerit.%20Sed%20blandit%20libero%20volutpat%20sed%20cras%20ornare.%3Cbr%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fsandbox.thenational.arcpublishing.com%2Fcomposer%2Fedit%2FXBCJDYXWCVGNPH7CMF4BXLQHBU%2F%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Etest%20link%3C%2Fa%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFactsBox%20Content%20without%20Heading%20%F0%9F%98%80%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELorem%20ipsum%20dolor%20sit%20amet%2C%20consectetur%20adipiscing%20elit%2C%20sed%20do%20eiusmod%20tempor%20incididunt%20ut%20labore%20et%20dolore%20magna%20aliqua.%20Ut%20enim%20ad%20minim%20veniam%2C%20quis%20nostrud%20exercitation%20ullamco%20laboris%20nisi%20ut%20aliquip%20ex%20ea%20commodo%20consequat.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOne%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETwo%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThree%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ELorem%20ipsum%20dolor%20sit%20amet%2C%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fthenational-the-national-sandbox.cdn.arcpublishing.com%2Fworld%2Fasia%2F2024%2F04%2F12%2Ftesting-japan-earthquake-live-death-toll-rises-to-62-as-survivors-face-rain-and-landslides%2F%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Econsectetur%20adipiscing%20elit%3C%2Fa%3E%20%2C%20sed%20do%20eiusmod%20tempor%20incididunt%20ut%20labore%20et%20dolore%20magna%20aliqua.%20Ut%20enim%20ad%20minim%20veniam%2C%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Equis%20nostrud%20exercitation%3C%2Fa%3E%20ullamco%20laboris%20nisi%20ut%20aliquip%20ex%20ea%20commodo%20consequat.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOne%20thing%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETwo%20things%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThree%20things%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
