Judicial ruling may end his political ambitions

Condemnation of Nicolas Sarkozy destabilizes the conservative wing in France

The French judiciary is pursuing Sarkozy in several cases.

A.F.B.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted a few days ago on corruption charges, which shook his conservative allies and reduced the chances of his political return.

Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, was accused of offering a judge a good job in exchange for classified information related to another trial he was facing.

A Paris court sentenced him to three years in prison, two of which were suspended;

Although he is unlikely to be transferred to prison, he could serve his time under conditions such as house arrest.

This is the first time that a former French president has been sentenced to imprisonment (Jacques Chirac received a suspended sentence in 2011 due to a forgery case). The defense team said he would appeal, and his lawyer, Jacqueline Lafont, explained, "The president is calm and has determination." , He is innocent, and we do not doubt that the Court of Appeal will overturn the ruling.

The conviction deals a blow to his conservative Republican allies, who have regularly hinted that although Sarkozy has officially retired from politics, the 2022 presidential election could be an opportunity to return with his already known name.

The party's leader, Christian Jacob, said that the ruling "is completely disproportionate and exposes the persecution of the judicial system (of Sarkozy)."

The former chief negotiator of the European Union, Michel Barnier, tweeted: "I simply want to mention my friendship with President Sarkozy, and his decision to appeal is completely legitimate."

Harsh punishment

The head of the conservative group in the Senate, Bruno Rettaio, referred to the ruling as "an extremely harsh punishment in a case that is remarkably vicious."

But in secret, some of Sarkozy's associates acknowledged before the court ruling that the indictment was likely to put an end to his new presidential ambitions.

One of his allies said, "If he is sentenced, then there is no further talk about him."

During hearings last fall, Sarkozy and his supporters argued that the trial was based on "lies" and was politically motivated.

Corruption allegations against the former president surfaced after investigators eavesdropped Sarkozy's conversations with his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, as they searched for allegations of Libyan funding for Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.

the final destination

The records showed that Sarkozy and Herzog discussed contact with the judge of the Court of Cassation, Gilbert Azibert, France's court of last resort for criminal cases, in an attempt to obtain information about a separate investigation into whether the former president had received donations from the heir of L'Oreal, Liliane Bettencourt.

Prosecutors said Sarkozy and his lawyer discussed offering a prominent position in Monaco to a judge in exchange for information about the Bettencourt case, which was eventually dropped.

Herzog and Seibert were also on trial with Sarkozy, charged with corruption and abuse of influence, and sentenced to prison.

This corruption trial is just one of several cases that Sarkozy has been implicated in.

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allegations of

corruption against the

former president emerged after the investigators to

eavesdrop on conversations between Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog, during their search in the

alleged funding of Libby in the

Sarkozy campaign in 2007.

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