Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vigorously denounced a “plot” he said was staged by “liars and crooks” on Thursday at a Paris trial over the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the Libyan government led by former leader Moammar Gadhafi.

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 has gone on trial in Paris, accused of taking millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 election campaign.