Nicolas Sarkozy begins his Five-Year Jail sentence for criminal conspiracy at La Santé prison. Image credit: Élysée
(The Post News) – Ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted of five years in jail for scheming to take illicit party funds from the government of Muammar Gaddafi. It is a low point in history for the ex-conservative darling, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012. Sarkozy is the first post-war French head of state to be imprisoned.
Sarkozy, 70, was convicted of criminal conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in exchange for political benefit. Found not guilty on the charges of stealing Libyan funds and illegal financing, the court did convict him on the charge of conspiring to spend illegally derived funds to bankroll his 2007 presidential bid. The crime was described by the court as “exceptionally grave,” undermining confidence in France’s political elite.
As he was escorted to prison the day he was jailed, Sarkozy left his Paris home, arm in arm with his wife Carla Bruni, and had his supporters form outside to create solidarity. “An innocent man is being jailed,” declared Sarkozy, marching to the La Santé prison. Sympathizers shouted his name and sang the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.
Sarkozy’s Legal Battles and Conviction
Sarkozy’s conviction follows a series of years of courtroom struggles after his loss in the 2012 presidential election. His alleged involvement in the illegal campaign financing issue over his claimed negotiation with the Gaddafi regime has tainted his post-presidency life. Sarkozy has complained throughout and maintains the case was politically motivated.
In trial, Sarkozy had been charged by prosecutors with making a “Faustian bargain” with Gaddafi for millions of dollars in campaign contributions. Sarkozy was acquitted of the most serious charges but convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to prison.
Sarkozy will do his time in solitary cells for security reasons, apart from the rest of the inmates. He had clearly prepared himself for prison life by packing some photos of his loved ones and three books, including The Count of Monte Cristo, an old favourite romance novel about an innocent man wrongly accused and seeking revenge.
One of Paris’s worst prisons, the La Santé prison, will be where Sarkozy is most likely to be behind bars in a VIP cell. The VIP cell is further isolated and smaller than the rest of the prison. Former prisoners have however, equated the experience as far from the extravagance of the former president prior to being locked up.
Political and Public Reaction
Sarkozy’s imprisonment has also triggered a raging political storm. Although his conviction is endorsed by the majority of French citizens, and he gained the votes of 60% of people in a recent survey, the former president remains strongly supported by conservatives and by right-wing quarters. The ruling has been interpreted by some as constituting part of the massive judicial campaign against corruption, while interpreted as political harassment by others.
President Emmanuel Macron, to whom Sarkozy had been received in private before his arrest, had rationalized his action in terms of being only human-sized on a natural basis as an expression of solidarity. Left-wing politicians criticized Macron for apparently disregarding the independence of the judiciary by receiving Sarkozy.
Sarkozy’s jail time is a departure from tradition in French white-collar crime. Previously, many high-profile politicians escaped with hardly any backlash, but Sarkozy’s case demonstrates an increasing willingness to charge powerful figures.
Sarkozy vowed to fight the conviction and continue his fight against the appeal. His lawyers have lodged an application for early release to await the appeal court to make a favourable judgment and release him by Christmas. This is to be determined over the next few weeks.
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