Sarkozy's First Day in Prison: No Individual Is Above the Law
While he made his way at the Parisian detention facility this week, Nicolas Sarkozy posted a statement brimming with opposition via social media, asserting, "It's not a former president of the nation who is being jailed this morning, it's an innocent man." The appeals judiciary is set to rule on the truthfulness of that statement. Yet sadly for the ex-president, the turmoil and significance of his fall cannot simply be wished away.
The Guilty Verdict
France's leader during the 2007-2012 term, the former president was judged culpable of unlawful plotting to secure illicit campaign funds from the regime of the deceased Libyan leader, the Libyan strongman. Sentenced to a five-year sentence, he has emerged as the pioneering past president of an EU member state to enter prison, and the first French leader since the disgraced head of Vichy France, Philippe PĂ©tain. In a country where the chosen leader enjoys a quasi-monarchical status, this week's remarkable event was a defining instance.
Citizen Confidence and Judicial Responsibility
During a period when confidence in political systems in France has collapsed to the extent where warning signs are evident, it was also a instructive example that no one is above the law. According to a survey released on Tuesday, two-thirds of respondents said that they felt a most of politicians were dishonest, and almost 90% claimed that the majority acted mainly out of personal gain. When convicting the former president and directing that his prison term should start immediately, the court official, the judicial authority, declared that she factored in both the profoundly severe aspect of the offences and the fact that they were "likely to undermine public confidence."
Judicial Threats
Such reflections might be seen as ordinary, notably because that the ex-president has in the past been convicted in other graft trials. But the legal proceedings and its fallout have alarmingly revealed the extent to which within the nation, as in other countries, the rule of law is threatened by a recently popular contempt for the judiciary and the try to influence of public opinion.
In Trumpian fashion, an comprehensive and precise court case has been falsely depicted by Mr Sarkozy's supporters as a legal conspiracy and political retaliation. Subsequent to the decision recently, the ex-leader openly condemned his punishment as unlawful and censured the "hostility" with "no restraints" that allegedly motivated it. Since high-ranking leaders and advocates from the traditional and radical have saturated public discourse and right-leaning media with the similar rhetoric, the judge has been subjected to numerous death threats.
Public Response
Reassuringly, the population does not appear to be buying it. Research following the judgment found comfortable majorities endorsing both the conduct of the courtroom process and his conviction. Yet the spectacle, and the naked attempt to damage the credibility of the judicial system, was very likely only a preliminary test. Next year, Marine Le Pen's appeal against a judgment for embezzlement of political funds will be heard. Should she lose it, the conservative figure will be ruled out from competing in the upcoming election.
Coming Consequences
Within a divided and skeptical country, that will be a perilous moment for the country's courts to manage. The former president may yet be released before his own appeal, subsequent to a petition by his lawyers. Yet the irresponsible and baseless attacks on the judicial framework before, during and after his trial have established a harmful example.
