"I will go to the end", condemned in the case of wiretapping, Nicolas Sarkozy still claims his innocence

Alexis Delafontaine, edited by Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: SERGE TENANI / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 20:14 pm, May 18, 2023

Nicolas Sarkozy breaks the silence. Sentenced this Wednesday on appeal to three years in prison including one year firm in the case of wiretapping, the former president of the Republic gave this Thursday an interview to the Figaro in which he continues to claim his innocence. Accused of having helped magistrate Gilbert Azibert to get a post in Monaco, in exchange for information on a legal case concerning him, the former head of state denies en bloc and heavily charges justice.

"The essential principles of our democracy have been trampled underfoot," he said. Nicolas Sarkzoy also questions the neutrality of the judge who pronounced the verdict on appeal. "The judiciary had already designated as one of the investigating judges of the 'Bismuth' case, a magistrate who had declared in Mediapart, after the presidential election of 2012, 'what is certain is that we all aspire to regain calm, serenity and confidence', implied thanks to Sarkozy's defeat. Wasn't this at least likely to feed a 'reasonable doubt' about his impartiality?" he asks.

"I didn't do anything reprehensible"

Nicolas Sarkozy also pinpoints the "political fight" that some magistrates would lead. "They said it publicly. It's not a fantasy," he said. In his defence, the former president argues that exchanges between a lawyer and his client - in this case those between Nicolas Sarkozy and his lawyer Thierry Herzog - must be protected by professional secrecy. "The jurisprudence of the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) is formal: under no circumstances, and in no way, such wiretapping can be opposable to me," Sarkozy said.

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Reason why he appealed to the Court of Cassation on Wednesday in the wake of the judgment on appeal. "I will go all the way because I repeat: I have done nothing reprehensible. There is no question that I look down, "persists the former Minister of the Interior. According to him, his failures in the 2012 presidential election and the right-wing primary in 2016 are directly related to the various cases in which he is cited. Legal setbacks that will "never make him lose [his] honor".