Former French President Sarkozy Begins a 5-year Prison Sentence For Campaign Finance Conspiracy

PARIS: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at a Paris prison on Tuesday to serve a 5-year prison sentence for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. It’s a historic moment that makes him the first former leader of modern France to be imprisoned.

70-year-old Sarkozy was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he left his home in Paris, hand in hand with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. He hugged her before getting into the police car. On his way to prison, Sarkozy made a statement on social media stating that “an innocent man” had been imprisoned.

Minutes later, the vehicle passed the gates of the infamous La Santé prison, where Sarkozy will serve his sentence in solitary confinement. Sarkozy was convicted last month of criminal conspiracy over a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

He is appealing both the conviction and the judge’s unusual decision to imprison him pending appeal. His lawyers said Tuesday that they are requesting his immediate release. “This is an ominous day for him, for France and for our institutions, because this imprisonment is shameful,” Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois told reporters immediately after his imprisonment.

solitary confinement

Sarkozy’s lawyers said he would be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons. Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper that he would bring three books (the maximum number allowed), including Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo”, which tells the story of the hero escaping from an island prison before taking revenge. His lawyers said he put some sweaters in a bag because the prison was cold and earplugs because it was noisy.

Christophe Ingrain, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, condemned “serious injustice”.

“It was a very difficult time, but the president stood strong,” Ingrain said. “He doesn’t complain, he doesn’t demand anything, he doesn’t get any special treatment.” Stating that Sarkozy will be allowed to go out alone in the prison yard for one hour a day and be visited by his family three times a week, Ingrain added that he plans to write a book about his prison experience.

Great support for the former president

Sarkozy’s journey from the presidential Elysée Palace to La Santé prison fascinated France. After leaving their house, Sarkozy and his wife walked slowly to his family members, including their children and grandchildren, in front of his house.

“I am very proud to share his name and his reaction,” said his brother Guillaume Sarkozy. “I truly believe he is innocent.” Hundreds of fans applauded, chanted “Nicolas, Nicolas” and sang the French anthem. Two French flags were hung on a nearby fence, reading “Courage Nicolas, come back soon” and “The real France with Nicolas”.

Virginie Rochon, 44, who lives in Paris, also supported Sarkozy and described it as “scandalous” to see “a former president being taken away while still considered innocent.” Another supporter, Véronique Maurey, 50, said: “This is simply not possible. On top of that, calling it a ‘criminal conspiracy’ because we voted for him makes us all feel guilty. It’s not right to say that.”

Meeting with Macron

Embattled centrist President Emmanuel Macron hosted conservative Sarkozy at the presidential palace last week. “As a matter of duty, I have always been very clear in my public statements about the independence of the judiciary, but it was normal on a human level to acknowledge one of my predecessors in this context,” Macron said on Monday. he said.

Sarkozy has stayed away from active politics for years, but he continues to be very influential, especially in conservative circles. “I am not afraid of prison. I will hold my head high, including in front of the gates of La Santé,” he told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper last week. “I will fight until the end”

The Paris court decided that Sarkozy should begin his prison sentence without waiting for the appeal hearing, due to the “seriousness of the crime in disturbing public order”. In its ruling dated September 25, the court said Sarkozy used his position as a presidential candidate and interior minister “to prepare for corruption at the highest level” from 2005 to 2007, financing his presidential campaign with funds from Libya, then ruled by long-ruling Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the decision, Sarkozy was able to request release from prison only once, to the court of appeal. Judges have up to two months to process the case.