PARIS (AP) — France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy maintained his innocence on Tuesday, telling an appeal hearing in Paris that not a single cent from Libya helped fund his 2007 presidential campaign.
“I owe the truth to French people,” Sarkozy told a three-judges panel during a hearing in the case that lead him to spend 20 days in prison before being granted release pending appeal. “I’m innocent,” he said.
Sarkozy, 71, is challenging his conviction after being found guilty in September of “criminal conspiracy.” He was sentenced to five years in prison for his alleged part in a scheme to obtain funds from the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in exchange for political and diplomatic favors.
Sarkozy has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and claims the allegations were politically motivated.
Tuesday’s hearing focused on his role as a conservative presidential candidate and then president from 2007 to 2012. The 12-week appeal trial, which began last month, will reexamine all of the evidence and testimony related to him and nine co-defendants — including three former ministers.
Sarkozy stressed he championed Western military intervention in Libya in 2011 after Gadhafi’s regime violently cracked down on anti-government protesters, when Arab Spring pro-democracy protests swept the region.
“I took the initiative, France took the initiative. Why? Because Gadhafi had no hold over me — financially, politically, or personally,” Sarkozy said.
Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters in October 2011, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.
Sarkozy’s appeal hearing comes after families of French victims of a 1989 plane bombing expressed their distress last week over possible promises made to Gadhafi’s government as part of the alleged deal.
Libya in 2003 took responsibility for both the 1988 plane bombing over Lockerbie, in Scotland, and the bombing of UTA flight 772 over Niger the next year that killed 170 people, including 54 French nationals on board.
“I believe that such unspeakable suffering can only be answered with the truth,” Sarkozy said.
Financial prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of having promised to lift the arrest warrant targeting Gadhafi’s brother-in-law and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, accused of masterminding the attacks, in exchange for alleged campaign financing.
“The truth is that I did not act in favor of Mr. Senoussi … who is in prison (in Libya) because he was arrested following the international action led by France,” Sarkozy said. “I never promised him anything.”
The trial at Paris appeals court is scheduled to last until June 3, with a verdict expected at a later date.
Sarkozy has faced multiple legal cases since leaving office. In November, the Court of Cassation — France’s top court — upheld his conviction for illegal campaign financing of his 2012 reelection bid, requiring him to spend six months under house arrest wearing an electronic ankle tag, a sentence that has yet to be implemented.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the appeals courthouse in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, to testify in his trial appealing a conviction involving illegal campaign funds from Libya. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the appeals courthouse in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, to testify in his trial appealing a conviction involving illegal campaign funds from Libya. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the appeals courthouse in Paris, France, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, to testify in his trial appealing a conviction involving illegal campaign funds from Libya. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 7, 2026--
NIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a global leader in consumer intelligence, today shared new results from Reckitt’s use of NIQ BASES AI Screener, demonstrating how AI-powered insights and synthetic data are transforming innovation speed and effectiveness. The case study highlights how Reckitt has accelerated concept development while improving performance outcomes—bringing more relevant products to market, faster.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407069246/en/
As companies face growing pressure to innovate quickly in an increasingly complex consumer landscape, traditional research and development cycles can slow decision-making. Reckitt’s adoption of AI-powered screening reflects a broader shift toward predictive, data-driven innovation—where teams can test, refine, and optimize ideas before investing in physical development.
Key Results from Reckitt’s Use of NIQ BASES AI Screener:
“AI is helping us do what we’ve always wanted—to learn early, fail fast, and optimize quickly,” said Dr. Elaine Rodrigo, Chief Insights & Analytics Officer at Reckitt. “The quality of what we get from NIQ BASES—especially the precision in how they build their synthetic data panel—gives us confidence that we’re basing decisions on real consumer behavior.”
Reckitt has embedded NIQ’s AI solutions across the early stages of its innovation process—from insights generation to concept creation and validation— supported by a large‑scale data foundation spanning multiple categories and markets. This approach enables teams to design more consumer-centric solutions while moving at significantly greater speed.
"NIQ BASES AI Screener supports teams to evaluate, screen, and optimize early ideas or concepts before proceeding to research & development. By leveraging synthetic respondents created from validated human panel data, the solution delivers predictive accuracy grounded in real consumer behavior—helping teams identify winning ideas and refine them earlier in the development cycle."
“The companies winning today are those that can turn consumer understanding into action, faster,” said Curtis Miller, President of Enterprise and Activation Solutions at NIQ. “By combining leading data scale and granularity with advanced AI models, we’re helping clients move from ideas to decision-ready innovation with greater speed and confidence.”
This case study reflects NIQ’s broader focus on embedding AI into its core solutions—helping companies move beyond insight generation to decision systems that enable faster, smarter innovation at scale. Find out more on how AI accelerates NIQ’s The Full View.
FAQs
What is BASES AI Screener?
BASES AI Screener is an AI‑powered solution that helps teams evaluate and prioritize innovation ideas early in the development process. It uses synthetic consumer responses trained on NIQ’s proprietary consumer purchase data to deliver fast, reliable insight that supports confident decision‑making at scale.
Who can use BASES AI Screener?
BASES AI Screener is a self-service solution, designed for organizations looking to scale innovation faster and more efficiently, particularly those managing large idea pipelines.
What are the key features?
BASES AI Screener helps teams screen more ideas earlier, ground decisions in real purchase behavior, shorten insight timelines to minutes versus days without sacrificing quality, and focus investment on the highest‑potential ideas.
Is it available globally?
BASES AI Screener is currently available in select markets and categories, with expansion ongoing.
How did BASES AI Screener impact Reckitt’s innovation speed?
At Reckitt, BASES AI Screener reduced insight timelines by 70%, allowing teams to learn and iterate much faster. By identifying winning ideas earlier, Reckitt improved both speed‑to‑market and confidence in innovation decisions, while raising concept quality early in development. Read more here.
About NIQ
NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete and trusted understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. By combining an unmatched global data footprint and granular consumer and retail measurement with decades of AI modeling expertise, NIQ builds decision systems that help companies turn complex data into confident action.
With operations in more than 90 countries, NIQ covers approximately 82% of the world’s population and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend. Through cloud-based platforms, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, NIQ delivers The Full View™—helping brands and retailers understand what consumers buy, why they buy it, and what to do next.
For more information, please visit www.niq.com.
Forward Looking Statement:
This press release on NIQ BASES AI Screener, may contain forward-looking statements regarding anticipated consumer behaviors, market trends, and industry developments. These statements reflect current expectations and projections based on available data, historical patterns, and various assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “believes,” “forecasts,” “plan,” “look ahead,” “indicates”, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future outcomes and are subject to inherent uncertainties, including changes in consumer preferences, economic conditions, technological advancements, and competitive dynamics. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. While we strive to base our insights on reliable data and sound methodologies, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances, except to the extent required by applicable law.
© 2026 Nielsen Consumer LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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