The Sarkozy family has been spending the end of year holidays in the Seychelles for several days. It is Giulia Sarkozy, daughter of the couple formed by Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, who has in fact shared on her TikTok account (followed by around 23,000 subscribers) several moments of this idyllic stay.
The 13-year-old posted photos of her first-class trip, her (non-alcoholic) cocktail overlooking the Indian Ocean, as well as a selfie in front of a mirror, all accompanied by the caption “Seychelles Mahé” .
Problem, for many Internet users who spotted this escapade (also documented in the celebrity newspapers): on Wednesday December 18, Nicolas Sarkozy was definitively sentenced to one year in prison under an electronic bracelet for “corruption and influence peddling” in the wiretapping affair.
Concerning the firm part, the court of appeal decided to adjust it directly (“ab initio”)ou the regime of “home detention under electronic surveillance” (DDSE), the technical term for the bracelet.
However, it remains to be determined the modalities, in about a month, i.e. until approximately January 18, 2025. The general public prosecutor's office of the Court of Appeal will therefore refer the matter to a sentence enforcement judge (JAP) in Paris. The latter will then summon Nicolas Sarkozy to appear before him.
The former president therefore has all the leisure to leave the country until this deadline. What will happen when he returns to France? We take stock.
Scheduled times for leaving your home
During the meeting, the convicted person must provide supporting documents (which the JAP will examine), in order to determine the place of assignment (home) and release times, weekdays and weekends.
For example, a convict may be allowed to leave his home between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.in order to be able to get to work.
Specific obligations can also be added, for example not to exercise a profession linked to the offense or to pay the damages to which he was sentenced (there were none in this case).
The JAP will then issue an order which sets these terms, a decision which the convicted person cannot appeal. The judge will also determine the date on which the bracelet will be installed.
Travel abroad not prohibited, but…
On the scheduled day for the bracelet to be fitted, surveillance agents, who report to the prison administration, go to the convict's home.
They adjust the system on site and install the device: from there, if the condemned person is not at home at the set timean alert will be triggered.
If he wants to change job, place of residence or if he wants to travel abroadthe convicted person must request prior authorization from the JAP.
Request for conditional release possible before half of sentence
Then, over the months, the judge will have to decide if he grants sentence reductions to the convicted personbased on reports from the Prison Integration and Probation Service (SPIP), which follows him on a daily basis.
Nicolas Sarkozy will be imprisoned without detention. As he will have over 70 years old from January 28, 2025he will be able to apply for parole before halfway through his sentence. This request would be considered, but not necessarily granted.
The electronic bracelet is the number 1 development in France: as of November 1, 2024, 15,591 people wore oneout of a total of 96,569 imprisonedaccording to figures from the Chancellery.
