Sarkozy says he will 'sleep in jail, but with head held high'
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 September 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in jail after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Also on the programme: the havoc caused by drones closing airspace and airports in Denmark; and the musician Arlo Guthrie - whose family has been wrecked by Huntington's disease - on the promise of this week's medical breakthrough.
(Photo: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives for the verdict in his trial at the courthouse in Paris. Credit: Reuters)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.6 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour. It's coming to you live from the BBC World Service Studios in central London. I'm Tim Franks. |
| 0:16.9 | We're going to begin with some news that has stunned France, that the former president, |
| 0:22.2 | Nicola Sarkozy, has been sentenced to five years in jail, and that he'll have to serve time, |
| 0:28.3 | even if, as he promises, he appeals against the conviction for criminal conspiracy. |
| 0:34.9 | The surprise, just to be clear, is not in the guilty verdict itself. |
| 0:38.4 | Mr. Sarkozy has other convictions to his name since he left the Elysee Palace in 2012, |
| 0:43.9 | and indeed he's not the only post-war president to be convicted on a criminal charge. |
| 0:49.3 | But he is the first to be ordered to prison. He's not there yet. That's likely to happen next month. |
| 0:55.7 | It is, though, a remarkable fall for a man who, let's not forget, was the president of a powerful |
| 1:00.7 | country, a permanent member of the Security Council, and who is still seen as influential in |
| 1:05.7 | right-wing politics. And at a time in France, as in so many countries, when there's deep disaffection about the established political classes. |
| 1:14.2 | Let's hear from the man himself defiant after the judge had delivered her sentence. |
| 1:22.5 | I will assume my responsibilities. |
| 1:25.5 | I will obey the judicial summons, |
| 1:29.3 | and if they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison, but with my head held high. I'm innocent. This injustice |
| 1:37.1 | is a scandal. I will not apologize for something I did not do. Naturally, I will appeal. |
| 1:45.1 | I will probably have to appear in handcuffs before the Court of Appeal. |
| 1:49.3 | Those who hate me to this extent think they are humiliating me, |
| 1:52.9 | but what they have humiliated today is France. |
| 1:58.0 | So how is France reacting to the verdict and the unprecedented sentence? |
| 2:03.8 | Alexandra Cousinier is a French journalist and political analyst. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.