Trials and allegations involving Silvio Berlusconi persons (including Silvio Berlusconi) for having committed false accounting and embezzlement. If the embezzlement charges would be proven by the court, this part of guilt would however be granted impunity due to a 1988 amnesty for the crime. First Court: A "Prima facie" case was issued, but the magistrate decided to drop the charges. The state attorney refused to file the case and appealed against the ruling.<br> Appeal Court: statute of limitations expired before the appeal was completed so Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted. First Court: On 26 September 2005, Berlusconi was acquitted because the new law on false accounting makes
Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy The presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy began on 16 May 2007 when Nicolas Sarkozy became the sixth President of the French Fifth Republic, following his victory in the 2007 presidential election. A candidate of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), he nominated François Fillon as Prime minister, who formed a composite government, a bit modified following the UMP's relative victory during the June legislative election. Although the UMP had not obtained a majority as large as expected, Nicolas Sarkozy could launch the reforms he had pledged as a candidate as soon as he was elected.