A defiant Nicolas Sarkozy told a Paris court on Thursday that allegations of illegal Libyan financing of his successful 2007 presidential bid were a "conspiracy" and that not a single cent of Libyan cash would ever be found in his campaign.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, on trial charged with accepting illegal campaign financing, told a court Thursday he had never accepted any money from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.