Former French President sentenced to jail for corruption
Written by Sarah Chong
Corruption Charges
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption and influence-peddling on March 1st. He has been sentenced to one year in prison with an additional two-year suspended sentence.
Prosecutors claim Sarkozy tried to gain confidential information regarding a separate case that involved him. In phone calls between him and his lawyer, Sarkozy spoke of securing a prestigious job in Monaco for a judge in exchange for details about the case.
Presiding Judge Christine Mée said Sarkozy “knew what [he] was doing was wrong” as he was a lawyer by training, and that he had projected a “very bad image of justice” to the public.
Influence peddling: use of political position or influence on someone’s behalf in exchange for favors
Suspended sentence: a sentence by the judge or court that is imposed but not enforced so long as no further offence is committed within a certain time period.
Who is Sarkozy?
Sarkozy was the President of France between 2007–2012. He has since retired from his position but remains an important figure in French right-wing politics, and is popular among conservative voters.
Since his departure from office, he has been the subject of a number of investigations. His 2007 election campaign is under scrutiny for allegedly accepting illegal payments and receiving funding from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. There are also claims that he overspent during his unsuccessful 2012 re-election campaign.
Why is this significant?
This marks the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has been convicted of corruption and handed a jail sentence. The only other similar instance is that of Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy’s predecessor, who in 2011 was convicted of misuse of public funds as the mayor of Paris. Chirac was the only other president of the Fifth Republic to be convicted by a court, but he did not receive a jail sentence.
Sarkozy’s lawyer has criticized the ruling as “extremely severe” and “totally unfounded and unjustified”, and has said he plans to appeal.
Fifth Republic: France’s current system of government
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