THE trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy concluded Tuesday in Paris, after a month during which the court sought to determine whether he broke laws on campaign financing in his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid.

The verdict is to be delivered Sept. 30. Prosecutors have requested a six-month prison term, as well as a six-month suspended sentence and a fine of about US$4,500.

Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing. He is accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of US$27.5 million on the reelection bid that he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande.

The trial comes after Sarkozy, 66, was found guilty March 1 of corruption and influence peddling in another case. He has appealed that verdict.

In their conclusions last week, prosecutors said Sarkozy knew weeks before the 2012 election that his campaign financing — strictly limited under French law — was getting close to the legal maximum. They accused him of having ignored two notes from his accountants warning against racking up additional expenses.

Instead, he gave instructions that led to more money being spent and did not put in place a supervision system, prosecutors said.

“Sarkozy is the signatory and the only person responsible for his campaign financing. He is responsible for monitoring expenses, which he did not do,” prosecutor Vanessa Perree said.

He showed “his intention to exceed [the limit] by continuing to hold his rallies,” she added.

Prosecutors said March 10, 2012, eight weeks before the presidential election runoff, the campaign’s budget was already above the legal limit. The next day, Sarkozy held a giant rally at Villepinte, north of Paris, which alone cost more than US$4.5 million.

Closer to election day, Sarkozy held almost one rally per day, including two major ones in Paris at a cost of several millions of dollars.(SD-Agencies)