Paris, December 07, 2020. Nicolas Sarkozy leaves the Paris judicial court after his hearing in the so-called “tapping of Paul Bismuth” trial where he is accused of “corruption”.

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Martin BUREAU / AFP

  • The trial of Nicolas Sarkozy for “active corruption” and “influence peddling” opened on November 23 before the 32nd chamber of the Paris judicial tribunal.

  • He is accused of having entered into a "corruption pact" with magistrate Gilbert Azibert to obtain information on legal proceedings concerning him.

  • Monday, the former head of state insisted that he had "never trafficked" in his life.

    He faces a ten-year prison sentence and a fine of one million euros.

At the Paris court,

“We cannot admit that a former president forgets the Republic.

"The National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) demanded a heavy sentence of the three defendants tried, since November 23, in the so-called" tapping of Paul Bismuth "case.

The two PNF magistrates demanded a four-year prison sentence including two years against Nicolas Sarkozy who appears before the 32nd chamber of the judicial tribunal for "active corruption" and "trading in influence".

They demanded a similar sentence against Gilbert Azibert, the magistrate accused of having entered into a "corruption pact" with the former head of state.

And Thierry Herzog, the historical lawyer of Nicolas Sarkozy, accused of being the "evil genius" and of having served as a messenger and intermediary.

For the latter, the prosecution also requested a five-year ban on the profession of lawyer.

In this case, the former head of state is accused of having sought to obtain information on legal proceedings concerning him from Gilbert Azibert, general counsel at the Court of Cassation, in exchange for a "helping hand." To get him a prestigious post in Monaco.

Both have always denied the alleged facts.

Monday, for more than three hours at the bar, Nicolas Sarkozy tried to convince the court of his innocence, hammering that he had "never trafficked" during his political career, believing that he was only a target for the magistrates of the financial prosecution.

His lawyers will have the floor on Wednesday to defend him before the end of the trial scheduled for Thursday.

The decision should be reserved.

Nicolas Sarkozy, like the other defendants, faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of one million euros.

Just after the suspension of the hearing, the former head of state gathered together his entire defense team for a long time, visibly affected by the heaviness of the requisitions.

… /… More information to come on 20minutes.fr

Follow the proceedings of the hearing on our journalist's Twitter account: @vvantighem

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