France, May 27 -- Of the 10 defendants in the appeal trial over alleged Libyan funding for his victorious 2007 presidential campaign, Sarkozy has spent the most time in the dock.

His lawyers are due to deliver their closing arguments on Wednesday, bringing his defence to a close after more than two months of hearings before the Paris Court of Appeal.

The 71-year-old former president has repeated insistently and at length, the same message: "not a single cent" of Libyan money was used in his 2007 campaign, he never sought such financing, and he made no promises to Libya's late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

In particular, Sarkozy denies any undertaking to intervene on behalf of Abdallah Senoussi, Gaddafi's brother-in-law and former intellige...