Keypoints:
- Sarkozy jailed over Libya funding scandal
- Five-year sentence begins despite appeal
- Case revives debate on French political ethics
FORMER French president Nicolas Sarkozy began serving a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday following his conviction for criminal conspiracy over alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential campaign.
The 70-year-old right-wing leader, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty in September of orchestrating an illicit arrangement with aides to receive financial backing from late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy, who has long maintained his innocence, denounced the verdict as an ‘injustice’ and immediately lodged an appeal.
‘If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison – but with my head held high,’ he told reporters after the September 25 ruling.
First French leader jailed since World War II
Sarkozy is the first French head of state to be jailed since Philippe Pétain, the collaborationist wartime leader imprisoned after World War II. He is being held at La Santé prison in southern Paris, according to AFP, and is expected to occupy a nine-square-metre solitary confinement cell.
Prison staff told the agency that Sarkozy will be kept isolated to prevent interactions with other inmates and to avoid unauthorised photographs. Solitary prisoners are permitted one short daily walk alone in a confined courtyard.
Sarkozy’s family urged supporters to show solidarity as he departed his Paris home to begin serving his sentence.
Judge cites ‘exceptional gravity’
During sentencing, presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino said Sarkozy’s actions were of ‘exceptional gravity’, ordering him to begin his prison term immediately even though an appeal was pending. His lawyers are expected to seek provisional release, which the appeals court must review within two months.
Sarkozy has faced multiple legal troubles since losing office in 2012. In a separate corruption case, he served part of his sentence under electronic monitoring until May, when his ankle tag was removed.
The Libyan funding deal
Prosecutors in the so-called ‘Libyan case’ alleged that Sarkozy’s aides reached a covert deal in 2005 with Gaddafi to finance his successful 2007 campaign. Investigators believe the arrangement was meant to help Gaddafi rehabilitate his image following Libya’s suspected role in two deadly airline bombings in the late 1980s.
While the court upheld the conspiracy charge, it acquitted Sarkozy of embezzling Libyan state funds, passive corruption, and illicit campaign financing.
He was previously stripped of France’s highest honour, the Legion of Honour, after his earlier graft conviction.
Divided public opinion
A survey by Elabe found that six in ten French citizens believe Sarkozy’s prison sentence is ‘fair’. Yet he remains a powerful figure on the right and retains influence within conservative circles.
President Emmanuel Macron met Sarkozy privately at the Élysée Palace last Friday, later defending the meeting by saying: ‘It was normal, on a human level, for me to receive one of my predecessors in this context.’
La Santé has previously held notorious inmates, including Venezuelan militant Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, though he has since been transferred.
