In a truly unprecedented move for France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to a Paris prison on Tuesday, marking the first time in over fifty years that a former head of state has been incarcerated in the nation.
Sarkozy received a five-year sentence last month after being found guilty of conspiring to secure illicit funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the regime of Libya’s former leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
While many doubt he will serve the full term, his conviction has ignited a fierce national debate. Judges overseeing the case have faced an onslaught of social media abuse, including death threats, as confirmed by Jacques Boulard, president of Paris’s Court of Appeal. The city’s public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, strongly condemned this ‘outburst of hate’ and announced a formal investigation into the threats.
A former lawyer, Sarkozy rapidly ascended the ranks of French politics, known for his relentless energy — fueled by a consistent morning run — and sharp intellect. Even after leaving office in 2012, he maintained significant influence within his conservative party and even with current President Emmanuel Macron, whom he openly endorsed during the 2022 presidential elections.
Furthermore, Sarkozy has been stripped of the Legion of Honor, France’s most prestigious award. He steadfastly maintains his innocence, continuously challenging the court’s verdict.
He will be held in solitary confinement at La Santé, a prison in southern Paris, a measure taken to ensure his safety, according to Sébastien Cauwel, head of the prison administration. Like all inmates, he is permitted three weekly visits and two daily walks.
Just two days after his conviction, Sarkozy declared in an interview with a conservative magazine that it was ‘not me who is humiliated, but France,’ criticizing the legal practices as ‘contrary to the rule of law’ and branding his sentence ‘as unjust as it is shameful.’
During a recent gathering with close associates, Sarkozy, who is of partial Jewish descent, reportedly drew comparisons between himself and Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army captain falsely accused of espionage in 1894. He was quoted as saying, ‘The end of the story is not written yet.’
Since leaving office, Sarkozy has faced multiple high-profile legal battles, resulting in convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and campaign finance breaches.
However, this particular case stands out as the most severe and complex, a fact underscored by the hefty sentence. Its intricate nature was highlighted in a documentary released last year, aptly titled ‘No one understands anything about it,’ reflecting one of Sarkozy’s own remarks on the proceedings.
Despite being granted time to prepare for his imprisonment, judges included a crucial provision in the verdict: he cannot be released even if he appeals, a departure from standard French legal practice. This provision, however, is becoming more common, applied in 58 percent of jail sentences in 2023, according to a Justice Ministry report.
François-Xavier Bellamy, a European Parliament lawmaker for the conservative Republicans, denounced the trial’s outcome as a ‘political verdict.’ Geoffroy Didier, the party’s vice president, echoed this sentiment, claiming it was a deliberate effort to ‘humiliate’ the former president.
Following the verdict, President Macron publicly condemned the ‘unacceptable’ attacks on judges via social media. Despite this, his office confirmed that he met with Sarkozy last Friday.
An editorial in the French daily Le Monde cautioned that Sarkozy’s response risked a ‘disastrous Trumpization of the debate in France,’ especially amidst increasing global political pressure on judicial systems.
Sarkozy’s legal woes have further intensified a national discussion surrounding Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader. She was convicted of embezzlement and banned from elections for five years in April, a verdict her supporters, despite compelling evidence, claimed was politically motivated judicial interference.
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 verdict.
Public support for Sarkozy saw a surge leading up to his imprisonment. His son organized a demonstration outside their home on Tuesday morning. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin expressed ‘a lot of sadness’ for the former president in a Monday radio interview, pledging to visit him in prison. Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the ex-president as ‘like family.’
His lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, stated plans to immediately file a request for early release, a process that typically takes two months for evaluation. In line with the standard six-month timeframe for appeal trials, Sarkozy’s appeal is slated for before the end of March, following Marine Le Pen’s appeal, anticipated to conclude by mid-February.