Sarkozy Jailing Reignites Debate over French Political Justice ahead of Le Pen Appeal

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s prison sentence has deepened divisions in France over judges’ handling of political wrongdoing, months before far-right chief Marine Le Pen attempts to overturn an embezzlement conviction and run for top office.

A Paris court jolted the political sphere on Thursday when it handed Sarkozy a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over attempts to raise campaign funds from Libya. He will soon become the country’s first post-war president to be imprisoned, according to Reuters.

Ludovic Friat, the president of the USM, the largest union representing French prosecutors and judges, said the ruling demonstrated that no one was above the law – even if some might choose to question the court’s motivation.

“There will clearly be a before and after this decision,” he said. “In high-profile political-financial trials, some inevitably see judges stepping onto the political stage. What I regret is that … too often, this becomes a smokescreen that diverts attention from the offences actually committed.”