Newsroom September 29 01:10Carla Bruni appears determined to stand by her husband’s side, Nicolas Sarkozy, during the five-year prison sentence imposed on him, as described by her biographer. Judge Natalie Gavarino ruled that Sarkozy was guilty of “allowing his close associates to seek financial support from the Libyan regime”. This is the first time a former French president has been convicted of attempting to use foreign funds in such a way. Prosecutors have argued that Sarkozy knowingly benefited from a “corruption deal” with the Gaddafi regime, which collapsed with the Arab Spring in 2011. Throughout the trial, Sarkozy insisted it was a frame-up based on fabricated evidence and called it a “revenge plot by liars and crooks” linked to Gaddafi’s entourage.