Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to prison: he can “try on” an electronic bracelet

The defense intends to appeal the decision again

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison on charges of corruption and trading in influence. According to Agence France-Presse, the verdict implies two years of suspended liberty, another year – a real prison term. But, according to Sarkozy’s defense, the former head of the Fifth Republic will spend his time in prison at home with an electronic bracelet. The sentences of two other defendants involved in the case also remained in force.

Nicolas Sarkozy, appearing in court on Wednesday, looked nervous. On this day, the temple of justice passed the already named historic verdict on charges of corruption and influence peddling. In fact, Sarkozy lost the 2021 appeal in the same case.

In total, the story resulted for the French ex-president in three years in prison. It turned out very prosaic. According to Agence France-Presse, on May 17, 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld one year of real imprisonment in addition to two more years of probation, which were imposed in 2021.

Sarkozy did not become the first former French president to face trial. In December 2011, the 22nd President of the Fifth Republic, Jacques Chirac, was also given a two-year suspended sentence on charges of abuse of position, trust, illegal profit-making and embezzlement of public funds in 1990-1995. Then he served as mayor of Paris. Despite the fact that the investigation insisted on the release of Chirac from liability, justice turned out to be adamant. According to the investigation, during this period, Chirac created a network of several dozen fictitious jobs in the mayor’s office, and the funds for paying these “employees” were transferred to the funds of his party “Union in Support of the Republic”, which then merged into the opposition party “Union in Support of the Popular Movement » (SPND). The scam cost the budget of the French capital 1.4 million euros. Chirac faced up to 10 years in prison. However, poor health saved the accused from such a harsh fate, so everything was limited to two years probation.

Thus, Sarkozy became a pioneer in terms of obtaining a real prison sentence. In addition, the Court of Appeal also deprived Sarkozy of the right to run for office. Lawyer for the 23rd President of France, Jacqueline Laffon, described the court’s decision as “stunning”, insisting that her client did not commit any wrongdoing: “Nicolas Sarkozy is innocent of the charges. We will walk this path to the end. This is just the beginning.”

To understand the essence of what is happening, we recall that in March 2021, the French court found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling. Litigation began in 2014. According to investigators (with which the court agreed on Wednesday), Sarkozy, through his lawyer Thierry Herzog, promised to help the former judge of the Court of Cassation Gilbert Aziber get an attractive position in the Principality of Monaco. To do this, Aziber had only to share confidential information about the progress of the investigation into the illegal financing of the election campaign of the 23rd President of the Republic by the French house L’Oreal.

The investigation was dubbed the Bettencourt case and was closely linked to Lillian Bettencourt, co-owner of the popular cosmetics brand. The former accountant of businesswoman Claire Triboud gave an interview to Mediapart, in which she admitted that French conservative politicians (including Sarkozy) received money from the Bettencourt mansion. Triboux claimed that a politician in the government of François Fillon, Eric Werth, acting as treasurer of the Union for a Popular Movement, received an envelope with 150,000 euros in cash in March 2007, just in time for Sarkozy’s presidential campaign. The politician himself was also a frequent visitor to the Bettencourt home, Tribou said, while still mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine from 1983 to 2002, and also received envelopes of cash. Sarkozy and Werth denied the allegations.

In the course of the present proceedings, the investigation referred to the numerous records of intercepted telephone conversations that it possessed. Investigators obtained permission to listen to the conversations of the ex-president in the course of another investigation – about the alleged participation of Muammar Gaddafi in financing Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign. In 2013, investigators investigating the French politician’s alleged links to Libya tapped two of Sarkozy’s phone lines and discovered a secret phone line used by the ex-president and his lawyer, eventually leading to a corruption investigation. In addition to Sarkozy himself, at least 12 more suspects may be involved in the case.

In September 2021, Sarkozy was also sentenced to a year of confinement in the so-called “Bygmalion case” for illegal campaign finance in 2012 – effectively exceeding the legal spending threshold of 22.5 million euros. Then Sarkozy’s election campaign cost 42.7 million euros.

After the court announced on Wednesday its verdict in the “wireapple case,” Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jacqueline Laffon, said that the defense intends to file a cassation appeal against Themis’ decision. This step will suspend all possible actions to enforce the sentence pending consideration of this complaint. That is why there was talk that the world might not see Sarkozy behind bars. Offenders are generally not put in jail unless the non-repair portion of their sentence exceeds two years. Usually the defendants have to wear electronic bracelets and comply with all conditions of house arrest.