Sarkozy's Initial 24 Hours in Prison: No Citizen Is Above Legal Justice

As he arrived at La Santé prison on Tuesday, the former French leader shared a statement filled with resistance via social media, asserting, "It's not a ex-leader of the nation entering prison today, it's an wrongfully accused individual." A court of appeal will in time decide regarding the accuracy of this assertion. However, regrettably for the ex-president, the turmoil and significance of his decline cannot be dismissed.

The Guilty Verdict

The French head of state from 2007 to 2012, Mr Sarkozy was judged culpable of illegal collaboration to acquire illegal financing from the regime of the former Libyan ruler, Muammar Gaddafi. Handed a half-decade incarceration, he has become the initial ex-head of an EU member state to go behind bars, and the first French leader since the disgraced head of wartime France, Marshal Pétain. Within a nation where the chosen leader holds a near-royal standing, this week's extraordinary spectacle was a seminal moment.

Citizen Confidence and Judicial Responsibility

At a time when trust in government bodies in France has collapsed to the degree where warning signs are evident, it was also a instructive example that everyone is subject to the law. In a poll published on Tuesday, a majority of participants said that they thought a most of elected officials were corrupt, and nearly nine out of 10 reported that most acted mainly out of self-interest. In sentencing the former president and ordering that his incarceration should start immediately, the judge, the judge, declared that she factored in both the exceptionally grave nature of the violations and the fact that they were "likely to undermine the people's faith."

Courtroom Struggles

These considerations might be considered unexceptional, notably because that Mr Sarkozy has previously been convicted in separate corruption cases. However the Sarkozy trial and its aftermath have disturbingly laid bare the degree to which in France, as in various states, the legal system is threatened by a recently popular contempt for the judiciary and the effort to control of public opinion.

In Trumpian fashion, an comprehensive and precise court case has been baselessly portrayed by Mr Sarkozy's supporters as a courtroom scheme and political retaliation. After the verdict last month, the former president openly condemned his sentence as unlawful and decried the "hatred" with "no limits" that supposedly drove it. Since senior politicians and supporters from the right and far right have dominated media discussions and right-leaning media with the identical arguments, the judicial figure has received numerous death threats.

Public Response

Hearteningly, the public seems unconvinced. Research following the judgment found comfortable majorities endorsing both the proceedings of the legal case and his sentencing. Yet the turmoil, and the obvious try to damage the credibility of the court system, was very likely just a trial run. Next year, the National Rally figure's appeal against a judgment for embezzlement of political funds will take place. Should she lose it, the far-right National Rally leader will be excluded from competing in the future campaign.

Long-term Effects

In a polarised and mistrustful nation, that will be a dangerous time for the national legal system to manage. Mr Sarkozy might eventually exit before his own appeal, after an application by his legal team. However the unfounded and damaging assaults on the legal system throughout his proceedings have established a harmful example.