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He left the Elysee Palace nine years ago. Now Nicolas Sarkozy is involved in an adventure and sentenced to prison. The prospects for a comeback are likely to darken considerably.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is on trial for bribery and illicit influence. The verdict should fall on Monday.
(dpa) Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in prison for bribery and illicit influence. They will be suspended for two years, the French news agency AFP reported on Monday from the Palace of Justice in Paris. The 66-year-old is unlikely to have to go to jail because the sentence can be served at home under electronic surveillance.
The judges also sentenced Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and lawyer Gilbert Azibert, to three years in prison, also with a two-year suspension. Negotiations in court at the end of last year caused a sensation in France.
According to the 2014 indictment, Sarkozy tried to obtain investigative secrets about Herzog from lawyer Azibert. In essence, this behavior jeopardized the independence of the judiciary, argued the prosecution.
The conservative Sarkozy ruled from 2007 to 2012 at the Elysee Palace. He had rejected the allegations in court late last year. He is still considered an icon of leadership by numerous civil rights advocates, although he no longer has offices.
The accusations are based on the use of wiretapped phone calls between the politician and lawyer Herzog. There had been a fierce dispute over the legality of these wiretaps. The procedure is considered to be one time only. But this is not the first time a previous president has been convicted. Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, received a two-year suspended sentence for embezzlement and breach of trust during his time as mayor of Paris.
Sarkozy’s time at the Elysee was marked by issues involving wealthy friends, excessive members of the government, or nepotism. The former hope of the right had started his career as mayor. He finally lost in 2012 to the socialist François Hollande. After resigning, he wanted to be president again five years later, but failed in the party’s internal selection process.
Sarkozy faces a legal hurdle. Due to the expenses of his failed re-election campaign, there will be another trial in the middle of the month. The judiciary has also been investigating Libya’s alleged payments for its successful presidential election campaign in 2007. Sarkozy also rejects all allegations here.
“Sarko,” as he is often called, even fueled speculation about a possible political comeback. Last summer he published the volume of memoirs “Le Temps des Tempêtes” (“The time of storms”), which became a bestseller. Presidents are protected by broad immunity in France.
