In an interview granted to the "Parisian", François Hollande deplores that the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti did not defend "immediately the judicial institution", after the "repeated attacks on justice and its independence".
François Hollande said Saturday in an interview with the
Parisian
not to accept "the repeated attacks on justice" after the sentencing of Nicolas Sarkozy to prison, even if he "measures what" this decision represents for his predecessor in the 'Elysium.
"I measure what this sentence represents for Nicolas Sarkozy both on the human level and on the political level. It is also a question of honor given the functions he has exercised," said the former head of the state.
"On the other hand what I do not accept are the repeated attacks against justice and its independence, with magistrates who are singled out by name", adds François Hollande, deploring that the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti no did not defend "immediately the judicial institution".
"The PNF magistrates were not chosen by me"
While the right has focused its attacks on the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), which it accuses of having played a political role in the trial, the former socialist leader recalls that the judgment was rendered "by an independent court after an investigation carried out by the PNF, then an investigation entrusted to other magistrates ".
DECRYPTION -
Business of "tapping": and now, what will happen for Nicolas Sarkozy?
"Finally, the PNF magistrates were not chosen by me, nor by my successor. They were chosen on the proposal of the Keeper of the Seals after the assent of the Superior Council of the Magistracy", insists François Hollande, who has created the PNF in 2013 after the Cahuzac affair.
"To claim that the PNF acts for partisan purposes is to undermine the impartiality of 18 magistrates who work independently for the general interest", continues the former head of state.
"The time when politicians were untouchable is over"
"To those who like Ms. Le Pen or Mr. Mélenchon complain that there would be a government of judges, I say that the time when policies were untouchable is over," he adds.
Regarding the "personal support" provided by the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin to Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande considers that "in these circumstances", that "does not offend".
He also believes that the "best way to fight" the National Rally, "is not to present itself just as a solution against the extreme right, but as a solution for the country".
And judge about the left that "it is not the division which is the most worrying" but "the fact that there is not a political line which can assert itself and be able to unite" in sight from 2022.