Prosecutor seeks prison time for France’s Sarkozy

PARIS — French prosecutors have requested a six-month prison term for former president Nicolas Sarkozy at his campaign financing trial, BFM TV reported on Thursday.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office could not immediately comment on the report.

On Tuesday, Sarkozy denied wrongdoing at his trial over the illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election campaign, saying its expenses were not his responsibility.

Prosecutors allege that Sarkozy’s conservative party spent nearly double the 22.5 million euros (US$27 million) allowed under electoral law on extravagant campaign rallies, then hired a friendly public relations agency to hide the cost.

A defiant Sarkozy said in court he had not been involved in the logistics of his campaign for a second term as president nor in how money was spent during the election run-up.