Nicolas Sarkozy becomes first French president to face prison

In an… select category, alongside former French President Jacques Chirac and former Prime Minister François Fillon -with the exception of alleged World War II traitor Philippe Pétain- Nicolas Sarkozy had already found himself. However, the President of France from 2007 to 2012 will be the first to actually go to prison, as the two aforementioned were sentenced with suspended terms. Nicolas Sarkozy “received” five years from French Justice for participation in a criminal organization and a €100,000 fine. Additionally, loss of civil rights. The sentence includes no suspension, while, as reported by Reuters and “Le Monde”, regardless of appeal he will go to prison.

Read: Guilty of participating in criminal organization in Gaddafi case

Sarkozy was tried for the millions he received from 2005 to 2007, that is before becoming President, which originated from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya. He was acquitted, however, of misuse of public funds and passive bribery. Regarding the allegation that the money was used for his electoral campaign, the evidence was insufficient to non-existent.

Nicolas Sarkozy: When will he wear the… striped uniform

Nicolas Sarkozy, therefore, makes… history and with him the French Republic and the sense of justice. The Prosecutor’s Office will send a summons by October 25, which will indicate the date when the former President of France will wear the… striped uniform. The fact that this period will pass created doubt among citizens about whether Sarkozy will actually go to prison. Certainly, this is not the issue. At least, the court confirmed the serving of a portion of the sentence.

He proclaims his innocence

Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni, was not composed during the announcement of the sentence. The President of France himself proclaimed his innocence from the start and in his statement after the publicization of the sentence continued to declare himself innocent. He further implied that he became a scapegoat and declared himself willing to play the role of sacrificial victim and become… prey to the appetites of a public that wants to see him in… jail. This, moreover, he seems to have let hang in the air with his statement “if they want to see me sleeping in prison, I will do it, but with my head held high”.

The… envelope from Libya

Nicolas Sarkozy had already served as President of France when Saif al-Islam launched accusations that he became a conduit for millions from his father, Muammar Gaddafi. The year was 2013 and the accusation also involved the fact that the large sums concerned financing his electoral campaign. Pandora’s box was already open, however the world had already seen it. Ziad Takieddine, a businessman from Lebanon, added fuel to the fire the following year. His accusations that Sarkozy was generously funded by Tripoli were not empty words, as he said he had written evidence. The former middleman between France and the Middle East also claimed that the former President received money even after sitting on the throne.

Lyrical Carla Bruni

Love conquers all, according to Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni. Essentially, her post, “love is the answer”, is a variation of the previous statement. The former first lady left the courthouse holding her husband’s hand. It’s worth noting that she accompanied her photo with the hashtag “hate will not pass”.

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Carla Bruni (@carlabruniofficial)