Nicolas Sarkozy had been sitting quietly since Monday, January 6, at the Paris Judicial Court, without saying a word. He jumped at the chance when the judge asked if he had an opening statement to make. He did. On Thursday, full of unbridled rage, he delivered his assessment of the charge that his 2007 presidential campaign was financed by Libya: "It's a conspiracy."

"Ten years of slander, 48 hours in police custody, 60 hours of questioning, 10 years of investigation, four months in court," raged the former French president. "I affirm, as I did at the start of the proceedings, that you will never, ever find one Libyan euro, nor even one Libyan cent." He insisted that he only wants two things, the truth and the law, "if it's not a dirty word," and that he has no scores to settle with anyone.

It's certainly not mutual. At the root of the affair according to Sarkozy are "three groups of liars and swindlers." First, the Gaddafi clan, "those murderers." The first accusations of illegal campaign financing came a few hours after Sarkozy declared that Muammar Gaddafi had to go. "We have the accounts, the documents, the proof, Gaddafi's son claimed. Well, don't be shy!" stormed the former president. "And then nothing. They can't even agree on the amount or even the name of a bank!"

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