In a historic moment for France, former President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence at a Paris facility on Tuesday. This marks the first time in over half a century that an ex-head of state has been incarcerated in the nation.
Earlier that morning, Mr. Sarkozy was seen leaving his Paris home alongside his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, greeting a crowd of friends and supporters who had gathered to chant his name and sing the French national anthem. He then traveled to the prison in a car, under police escort, to begin his term.
Addressing reporters outside the prison, one of his lawyers, Jean-Michel Darrois, described the day as “fateful” for both Mr. Sarkozy and France’s institutions, calling the incarceration a “shame.”
The former president was convicted last month for conspiring to seek funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the government of then-Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, resulting in the five-year sentence.
While many anticipate he won’t serve the full term, the verdict and Mr. Sarkozy’s strong condemnation of it have ignited a heated national debate. Judges associated with the case have even faced online harassment and death threats, as confirmed by Jacques Boulard, president of Paris’s Court of Appeal.
A former lawyer, Mr. Sarkozy is renowned for his assertive political style and quick intellect, having rapidly ascended the ranks of French politics. Even after leaving office in 2012, he maintained significant influence within his conservative party, the Republicans, and notably endorsed President Emmanuel Macron during the 2022 elections.
President Macron has remained silent on the verdict itself but previously stated on social media, following Mr. Sarkozy’s conviction, that attacks targeting judges were “unacceptable.”
Mr. Sarkozy vehemently denies the charges and has appealed the verdict. He has also been stripped of the Legion of Honor, France’s most prestigious award.
Inside La Santé, a prison in southern Paris, Mr. Sarkozy will be held in solitary confinement for his safety, according to Sébastien Cauwel, head of the prison administration. An image accompanying this report depicts the imposing stone entrance of La Santé prison.
On Tuesday, Mr. Sarkozy declared on social media, “I will continue to denounce this legal scandal, this ordeal that I have been enduring for more than ten years.”
During a recent gathering, Mr. 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. French media reported him as stating, “The end of the story is not written yet.”
Since leaving office, Mr. Sarkozy has faced multiple high-profile trials, leading to convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and campaign spending violations.
However, this particular case stands as the most severe and intricate of them all.
Although granted time to organize his affairs before imprisonment, judges included a stipulation in the verdict ensuring he would not remain free during the appeal process.
His supporters have strongly criticized this decision, arguing it’s an unwarranted humiliation for a former head of state who poses no flight risk. However, a Justice Ministry report from 2023 indicates that in 89 percent of cases where individuals received sentences over two years, like Mr. Sarkozy, immediate incarceration was the norm.
Meanwhile, the political fallout continues. François-Xavier Bellamy, a Republican member of the European Parliament, condemned the ruling as a “political verdict,” while party vice president Geoffroy Didier labeled it an attempt to “humiliate” the former president. Another image shows supporters of Mr. Sarkozy gathering in Paris on Tuesday as he reported to prison.
President Macron’s office confirmed that he met with Mr. Sarkozy last Friday. Macron described the meeting as “normal on a human level” for a successor to meet a predecessor in such a situation, emphasizing that he was not commenting on the verdict itself.
The public outcry from Mr. Sarkozy regarding his conviction has reignited a broader discussion on judicial independence. This follows a similar controversy in April when far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement and banned from public office for five years, prompting her supporters to accuse judges of interfering with elections.
In an editorial published last month, the newspaper Le Monde cautioned that Mr. Sarkozy’s response risked a “disastrous Trumpization of the debate in France,” highlighting increasing political pressure on judiciaries globally.
In the days leading up to his imprisonment, support for Mr. Sarkozy from some conservative politicians escalated. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin expressed “a lot of sadness” for Mr. Sarkozy in a Monday radio interview, stating he intended to visit him in prison. Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who served as justice minister during Sarkozy’s presidency, referred to the former president as “like family.”
Mr. Sarkozy’s appeal against his conviction is scheduled to be heard before the end of March.
Meanwhile, a request for early release, filed by another of Mr. Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, awaits evaluation by the Paris Court of Appeal. The court has up to two months to review such requests, though decisions are usually made within a month.