On March 1st, it was revealed that former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was guilty of charges that had been undergoing investigation, surprising the world. It was an even more surprising result as he was the first president to receive a jail sentence in France. Nicolas Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 to 2012. What had happened to him that made him guilty, even with his reputation as a former president of France? Let's learn more about Sarkozy, the verdict, and other incidents with which he is related.
1. Who Is Nicolas Sarkozy?
Nicolas Sarkozy was the former president of France whose tenure was from 2007 to 2012. In 1974, at the age of 19, he participated in the election campaign of Chaban-Delmas in the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR) of France. With the help of Charles Pasqua, he joined the Rally for the Republic (RPR) in 1976 at the young age of 21 and became head of the party's policy committee for Neuilly-sur-Seine in France the following year. He was also elected mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1983 at the age of 28. Ten years later, in 1993, he became a member of the House of Representatives by a wide margin, and was appointed the Minister of Budget, increasing his public presence. That same year, he personally negotiated a hostage crisis at a kindergarten in Neuilly-sur-Seine, saving 21 children and gaining huge popularity among the French. Then, in 1999, the head of Sarkozy's party abruptly resigned, making Sarkozy the leader of the party. Sarkozy decided to run for president in late 2006, and in April 2007, Sarkozy was elected the 23rd President of France, winning over 50% of the vote. However, he lost his bid for reelection in 2012 and became the first single-term president in 31 years in France, and also lost to the current President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 presidential election.
2. What Was He Charged With?
The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty on March 1, 2021 as he was found to have sought internal information in 2014 on the investigation that had been ongoing while he was in office. Since 2010, Sarkozy has been under investigation for suspicion of receiving illegal political funds from Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress of L'Oreal, a well-known French cosmetics company, during the 2007 election. Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to learn about the progress of the Supreme Court on this case, also known as the Bettencourt case. So, he and his lawyer Thierry Herzog encouraged the then-Supreme Court justice Gilbert Azibert to share confidential information, promising to provide an authoritative position for him in Monaco after his retirement. The charges for the Bettencourt case itself were dropped in October 2013, but Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to bribe the Supreme Court justice, two of which were suspended. Judge Christine Mée also sentenced Herzog and Azibert to the same sentence as Sarkozy, judging that there was "serious and concurring" evidence that there was a corruption agreement between Sarkozy's lawyer Herzog and former Supreme Court justice Azibert. An article by The Guardian on March 2nd states that Sarkozy will probably not go to jail even though he was found guilty and that the year he was sentenced to prison is expected to be spent under house arrest with an electronic anklet.
3. Past and On-going Incidents
a. Illegal Donation from the Libyan Dictator Gaddafi?
Surprisingly, this is not Sarkozy's first indictment. In addition to the Bettencourt case, he is currently under investigation for two other matters. In September 2013, French detectives began monitoring Sarkozy's communications. This is because he was suspected of receiving money from Muammar Gaddafi, a Libyan dictator, when he campaigned for the presidency in 2007. Mediapart, an independent online research journal in France, reported in 2012 that he was estimated to have received about €500,000 from Gaddafi. What's interesting is that this incident was the key that led to his jail sentence this month. The corrupt agreement between Sarkozy, his lawyer, and Azibert was brought to the surface after detectives monitoring his communication found out that Sarkozy and then-Supreme Court justice Azibert were communicating using cell phones registered under pseudonyms. The investigation into the case is still ongoing and will be put on trial again next month to receive a ruling after being investigated by police in 2018.
b. The Bygmalion Affair
Sarkozy is also accused of forging campaign receipts in the 2012 presidential election. In France, the budget for campaigning is limited to €225,000. However, Sarkozy is under investigation for suspension of deliberately working with the party-friendly public relations firm Bygmalion to falsify spending more. Investigators believe that Bygmalion wrote false accounts that it used only €180,000 for the campaign when they are suspected to have used nearly €430,000 at that time, allowing the party to spend beyond the campaign limits set in France. However, according to a BBC article on March 29, 2018, Sarkozy said, “It's hard to believe, but I swear I didn't know anything about the company until the scandal broke out, and it's absolutely true,” and denied all accusations.
4. The Significance of Sarkozy’s Arrest
It is shocking since Sarkozy is the first president to receive a real prison sentence as former President Jacques Chirac only received a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 in consideration of his age, health, and his role as former head of state. At the same time, the ruling is all the more meaningful because it was a ruling that showed that everyone was equal before the law. Philippe Marliere, a professor of French and European politics at University College London in the United Kingdom, gave a positive assessment of the ruling. The ruling also represents a victory for democracy, he said in a March 2nd article in The Guardian. He also said, “It was also the triumph of democracy: evidence that no citizen, however powerful he or she might be, is above the law.”
Sarkozy's arrest will also likely make it difficult for The Republicans (Les Républicains) to have their candidate succeed in the next election. Although Sarkozy's return to office is not illegal, his chances of being elected are significantly lower, as he was originally scheduled to run in the 2022 presidential election. It is expected that The Republicans will suffer further as Sarkozy's former prime minister, Francois Fillon, was embroiled in a scandal that led to the election of current President Emmanuel Macron and Sarkozy's failure in prudency in the last election.
5. Some Responses Regarding His Arrest
Damien Abad, president of The Republicans, commented about his support for Sarkozy. “Today I want to again express my friendship with President Nicolas Sarkozy. His life has been a succession of trials that he has never ceased to overcome with energy and courage. Once again he will prove this. I am certain of it.” he said, expressing his faith in Sarkozy.
A political science professor, meanwhile, raised his concerns regarding Sarkozy’s arrest. Pascal Perrineau, a professor at the Sciences Po University in Paris, said that he was concerned about the former president’s arrest as since leaving office, Sarkozy had created the irreplaceable image of acting behind the scenes on the French Right. He said, “He (Sarkozy) filled the void and appeared as a moral authority and a possible option for 2022. His conviction, if confirmed, robs him of this stature.” According to The New York Times, this phenomenon was also aided in part by the lack of a clear political successor.
France found the former president guilty and declared this on March 1, 2021. This unusual ruling may be a suggestion of the start of an era of equality. Sarkozy will also face trial on other allegations, so we need to watch his future trials closely. CAH truly hopes that this incident will bring about a world where everyone is equal in the face of the law, not just in France, but in any country, and receive the punishment specified in the law instead of light punishment.