Sarkozy's First Day in Prison: No Individual Stands Above Legal Justice

As he arrived at the Parisian detention facility on Tuesday, the former French leader shared a declaration overflowing with defiance via social media, writing, "This isn't a ex-leader of the republic who is being jailed today, but rather an innocent man." An appellate court will in time rule on the veracity of this assertion. Yet sadly for the ex-president, the drama and importance of his decline cannot be ignored.

The Guilty Verdict

President of France from 2007 to 2012, the former president was found guilty of illegal collaboration to secure prohibited donations from the administration of the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Given a five-year prison term, he has become the initial ex-head of an European Union nation to enter prison, and the initial French president since the disgraced head of the Vichy regime, the Vichy leader. Across France where the democratically selected head of state possesses a quasi-monarchical status, this week's remarkable event was a defining instance.

Public Trust and Legal Accountability

During a period when confidence in political systems in France has collapsed to the degree where the lights are flashing red, it was also a instructive example that the law applies to all. As per a study published this week, a majority of participants said that they thought a majority of elected officials were dishonest, and nearly nine out of 10 reported that many acted mainly out of individual benefit. When convicting the former president and directing that his prison term should commence promptly, the judge, the judge, declared that she took into account both the exceptionally grave nature of the violations and the fact that they were "potentially erode the people's faith."

Judicial Threats

Those thoughts might be seen as ordinary, especially given that the ex-president has in the past been sentenced in distinct bribery proceedings. Yet the legal proceedings and its aftermath have disturbingly laid bare the scope to which within the nation, as in other countries, the rule of law is threatened by a newly fashionable contempt for the judiciary and the effort to control of societal perspectives.

Following a populist playbook, an exhaustive and meticulous judicial procedure has been groundlessly presented by his backers as a judicial plot and political retaliation. Following the ruling recently, the ex-leader publicly criticized his sentence as illegal and decried the "hatred" with "no boundaries" that supposedly drove it. Since senior politicians and advocates from the right and far right have dominated media discussions and right-leaning media with the identical arguments, the judicial figure has been subjected to multiple threats.

Citizen Reaction

Reassuringly, the population does not appear to be buying it. A post-verdict poll found significant majorities supporting both the conduct of the courtroom process and his sentencing. However the spectacle, and the naked attempt to undermine the reputation of the court system, was most probably just a trial run. Next year, Marine Le Pen's court petition against a conviction for diversion of electoral finances will be heard. Should she lose it, the far-right National Rally leader will be ruled out from competing in the future campaign.

Future Implications

Across a fragmented and doubtful society, that will be a perilous moment for the country's courts to navigate. The former president may yet be released prior to his appeal hearing, following a request by his legal team. Yet the reckless and unfounded criticisms on the legal system throughout his trial have set a damaging precedent.