Nicolas Sarkozy appears before judge to answer donation questions The sum shocked many French citizens because spending on political campaigns is tightly limited here. Individual campaign contributions to candidates are limited to 4,600 euros, and no candidate can spend more than 22 million euros on an entire presidential campaign. The French government reimburses some of that money to the winner. The investigation centres on the finances of Mrs Bettencourt, Europe's richest woman and the focus of a long-running family feud over her fortune that ballooned in 2010 into a multilayered investigation and political affair. Mrs Bettencourt, who was reported to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, has since been placed under legal protection. Mr Sarkozy lost his immunity from prosecution when he lost the presidency to Socialist Francois Hollande in May. Since then, his conservative UMP party has fallen into disarray. The former president's ties to the wealthy alienated many in France, but he remains popular among the country's conservatives despite the legal problems that have dogged him since leaving office. Mr Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, told the Sipa news agency that after Thursday's hearing Sarkozy could either face preliminary charges or be given special witness status with the possibility of facing charges later. The hearing is expected to last all day.