For thirteen years, the French judiciary was investigating former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He was sentenced to three years in prison last Monday for bribery.
The Paris finance prosecutor is now appealing the judgment.
Sarkozy himself announced that he might go to the European Court of Human Rights.
The French public is divided: Is it a dogged hunt or simply the task of the judiciary to judge a corruption case regardless of the reputation of the person.
Raphaël Enthoven, philosopher, political commentator and ex-husband of Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni, observed the process.
WORLD:
With Jacques Chirac and now Nicolas Sarkozy, two ex-presidents were convicted.
Unthinkable in Germany!
Has France, the country of the Enlightenment, got into trouble or does the judgment mean the end of the "untouchables"