News: Former French President Sarkozy faces 10yrs in jail over claims he took millions from Gaddafi

As he was driven away from police cells in a black saloon with tinted windows yesterday, the diminutive, unkempt passenger in the back seat could have been mistaken for a Parisian pimp arrested for hustling on the Champs-Elysées.

Yet this unshaven man was none other than Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, who is facing up to ten years in jail and a £400,000 fine after being charged with corruption and attempting to tamper with a criminal investigation.  

Dubbed President Bling-Bling on account of his penchant for expensive watches and designer sunglasses, Sarkozy was released on bail yesterday morning after becoming the first French leader in history to be held in police custody.

Once one of the most powerful men in the world, Sarkozy’s abject humiliation was sealed in the early hours of yesterday morning when, following 15 hours of questioning by detectives, he was hauled before an examining judge and had his rights read out.

Then, in a scene far removed from the pomp and luxury he enjoyed during five years in the Elysée Palace, he was unceremoniously charged with ‘active corruption’, ‘influence peddling’ and ‘violating the professional secrecy’ of an active judicial inquiry. 

Dishevelled and described by one witness as ‘looking like a broken man’, the 59-year-old was freed on bail just before 2am.

He was then driven to the home he shares with Carla Bruni, 46, the former supermodel who is his third wife.