In a truly historic development for France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy reported to a Paris prison on Tuesday, becoming the first ex-head of state in over fifty years to be incarcerated in the nation.
Last month, Mr. Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to five years for conspiring to secure illicit funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the regime of the late Libyan strongman, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
While many doubt he will serve the full sentence, his conviction has already sparked a fervent national debate. Judges linked to the case have faced an onslaught of harassment on social media, including death threats, confirmed Jacques Boulard, president of Paris’s Court of Appeal. Laure Beccuau, the Paris public prosecutor, condemned this “outburst of hate” and announced an official investigation into the threats.
A former lawyer, Mr. Sarkozy is renowned for his tenacious spirit, sharp intellect, and unwavering dedication to his morning run. Even after leaving office in 2012, he maintained significant sway within his conservative party and even influenced President Emmanuel Macron, offering public support during the 2022 presidential elections.
Stripped of the prestigious Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction, Mr. Sarkozy remains steadfast in his claims of innocence, vehemently challenging the legitimacy of the verdict.
He will serve his time in a cell at La Santé prison in southern Paris. For his own safety, he has been placed in solitary confinement, confirmed Sébastien Cauwel, head of the prison administration, in a recent interview. Like all inmates, he is permitted three weekly visits and two daily walks.
Two days after his conviction, Mr. Sarkozy expressed his outrage in a conservative magazine interview, stating, “It is not me who is humiliated, but France, by these practices that are so contrary to the rule of law,” and denounced the sentence as “unjust as it is shameful.”
During a recent gathering with close associates, Mr. Sarkozy, who has Jewish ancestry, reportedly drew parallels between his situation and that of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army captain falsely accused of espionage in 1894. French news outlets quoted him asserting, “The end of the story is not written yet.”
Since leaving office, Mr. Sarkozy has faced multiple high-profile legal battles, resulting in convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and campaign finance breaches.
However, this particular case, reflected in the severity of the sentence, stands as the most grave and intricate. Its complexity was even highlighted in a documentary by investigative journalists last year, titled after one of Mr. Sarkozy’s own remarks: “No one understands anything about it.”
Although Mr. Sarkozy was granted a period to arrange his affairs before his imprisonment, judges included a special provision in the verdict. This measure prevents his release even if he appeals, a departure from standard French legal practice. Such provisions are becoming more common, applied to 58 percent of jail sentences in 2023, according to a Justice Ministry report.
François-Xavier Bellamy, a conservative Republican lawmaker in the European Parliament, publicly labeled the trial’s outcome a “political verdict.” Similarly, Geoffroy Didier, the Republicans’ vice president, claimed it represented a deliberate effort to “humiliate” the former president.
Following the controversial verdict, President Macron took to social media to condemn attacks on judges as “unacceptable.” Despite this, Macron’s office confirmed he met with Mr. Sarkozy the previous Friday.
The French daily Le Monde, in an editorial, cautioned that Mr. Sarkozy’s defiant response was contributing to a “disastrous Trumpization of the debate in France,” at a time when judiciaries globally face increasing political pressure.
Sarkozy’s ongoing legal issues have also intensified a national discussion surrounding Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader. She was convicted of embezzlement in April and received a five-year electoral ban. Her supporters, despite compelling evidence, likewise accused judges of manipulating the electoral process.
A recent poll revealed that over 70 percent of French citizens were appalled by the threats against judges, with 58 percent affirming their belief in the impartiality of the court’s verdict.
In the days leading up to his imprisonment, public sympathy for Mr. Sarkozy reportedly increased. His son organized a demonstration outside their home on Tuesday morning. Gérald Darmanin, the justice minister, publicly expressed “a lot of sadness” for Mr. Sarkozy in a Monday radio interview and pledged to visit him in prison. Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the former president as “like family.”
Mr. Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, confirmed plans to immediately file for early release, with requests typically evaluated within two months. Consistent with the standard six-month timeframe for appeal trials, Mr. Sarkozy’s appeal is scheduled before the end of March, following Ms. Le Pen’s, which is expected to conclude by mid-February.