In a historic moment for France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy was incarcerated in a Paris prison on Tuesday, becoming the first ex-head of state in over fifty years to face such a fate.
Sarkozy received a five-year sentence last month after being found guilty of conspiring to solicit funds for his 2007 presidential campaign from the regime of Libya’s former strongman, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
While many doubt he will serve the entire term, his conviction has ignited a furious national debate. Judges linked to the case have faced social media attacks and even death threats, as confirmed by Jacques Boulard, president of Paris’s Court of Appeal. Paris public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, condemned this ‘outburst of hate,’ confirming that an investigation is underway.
Known for his combative spirit, sharp intellect, and consistent morning runs, Sarkozy, a former lawyer, rapidly ascended France’s political ladder. Even after leaving office in 2012, he has maintained significant sway within his conservative party and even with President Emmanuel Macron, whom he openly endorsed in the 2022 presidential elections.
Stripped of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest accolade, Sarkozy vehemently asserts his innocence and has consistently challenged the court’s decision.
He is set to be held in solitary confinement at La Santé, a prison in southern Paris, for his own safety. Sébastien Cauwel, the head of the prison administration, confirmed in a recent radio interview that Sarkozy would be granted three visits and two walks daily, adhering to standard inmate protocols.
Following his conviction, Sarkozy told a conservative magazine that the sentence was ‘as unjust as it is shameful,’ declaring, ‘It is not me who is humiliated, but France, by these practices that are so contrary to the rule of law.’
During a recent meeting with confidantes, Sarkozy, who has Jewish ancestry, drew parallels between his situation and that of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army captain falsely accused of espionage in 1894. He was quoted as stating, ‘The end of the story is not written yet.’
Since leaving presidential office, Sarkozy has faced numerous high-profile legal battles, with convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and breaches of campaign finance regulations.
This particular case, however, stands out as both the most severe, evident in the length of the sentence, and the most intricate. A documentary released last year by investigative journalists was aptly titled ‘No one understands anything about it,’ reflecting one of Sarkozy’s own remarks on the complexity of the matter.
Despite being granted a period to arrange his affairs before imprisonment, judges included a special provision in the verdict preventing his release during an appeal – a departure from typical French legal practice. This provision, however, is becoming more common, applied to 58% of jail sentences in 2023, as reported by the Justice Ministry.
Conservative Republican lawmaker François-Xavier Bellamy labeled the trial’s outcome a ‘political verdict,’ while Geoffroy Didier, the party’s vice president, asserted it was a blatant effort to ‘humiliate’ the former president.
Following the verdict, President Macron publicly decried attacks against judges as ‘unacceptable’ in a social media post. Nevertheless, his office confirmed that Macron met with Sarkozy just last Friday.
An editorial in the French daily Le Monde cautioned that Sarkozy’s response was dangerously ‘Trumpizing’ public discourse in France, especially amid increasing global political pressure on judicial systems.
Sarkozy’s legal woes have also intensified a national discussion surrounding far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was convicted of embezzlement and banned from elections for five years in April. Despite compelling evidence, her supporters at the time alleged judicial interference in electoral processes.
A recent poll revealed that over 70% of French citizens were appalled by the threats against judges, while 58% considered the verdict to be impartial.
Ahead of his imprisonment, public sympathy for Sarkozy notably increased. His son staged a demonstration outside their home on Tuesday morning. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin expressed ‘a lot of sadness’ for Sarkozy in a Monday radio interview, stating his intention to visit him in prison. Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the former president as ‘like family.’
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, announced plans to immediately file for early release, with such requests typically reviewed within two months. His appeal trial is slated for before the end of March, following Marine Le Pen’s appeal, which is expected to conclude by mid-February.