Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of France, has been convicted in a corruption trial in Paris. The 66-year old received a three-year prison sentence, two years of which are suspended. The Wall Street Journal reports that the court convicted Sarkozy on ‘charges of influence-peddling and corruption for offering to help a magistrate land a plum position in Monaco in exchange for confidential information about an inquiry into the finances of his 2007 presidential campaign’. The court ruling is unprecedented, with Sarkozy being ‘the first president in the history of France’s post-World War II republic to face prison time’. – Jarryd Neves
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Former French President Sarkozy convicted in corruption trial
Court sentences politician to three-year prison term with two years suspended
Updated March 1, 2021 8:35 am ET
PARIS—Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty Monday of trying to bribe a magistrate, becoming the first president in the history of France’s post-World War II republic to face prison time.
A Paris court convicted Mr. Sarkozy on charges of influence-peddling and corruption, sentencing him to three years in prison for offering to help a magistrate land a plum position in Monaco in exchange for confidential information about an inquiry into the finances of his 2007 presidential campaign.
The court suspended two out of the three years of Mr. Sarkozy’s prison sentence. Under French law, he is not required to serve any prison time until the appeals process is exhausted.
Mr. Sarkozy denied the charges during the trial, testifying that he initially considered helping the magistrate as a favor to his friend and lawyer, but ultimately decided against it. The magistrate didn’t get the job in Monaco.
A lawyer for Mr. Sarkozy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Sarkozy’s prison sentence is unprecedented for modern France. In 2011, former President Jacques Chirac received a two-year prison sentence after judges found him guilty of embezzling public funds to illegally finance the conservative party he led. That prison sentence was suspended, however, meaning the late Mr. Chirac didn’t serve any time.
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at [email protected]
