Investigation into Nicolas Sarkozy not due to ‘hatred’, his prosecutor says

Nicolas Sarkozy has not yet started his jail term and was seen at a Paris Saint-Germain football match in Paris on Saturday. Photograph: Poitout Florian/Abaca/Shutterstock

The French prosecutor whose office led the case against the former president Nicolas Sarkozy over campaign funding from Libya has denied the investigation was motivated by hatred.

In a rare public comment, Jean-François Bohnert, France’s top prosecutor for financial crimes, told RTL radio on Monday: “We have no hatred to express … Our compass is the law, it is the rule of law.”