While Nicolas Sarkozy has just been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, including one year under “home detention under electronic surveillance”, several Internet users are outraged by the travel photos shared by his daughter Giulia.
Paris Match, Gala, Public… Almost the entire celebrity press echoed it: going on vacation to the Seychelles with her parents, Giulia Sarkozy shared heavenly photos on TikTok. Followed, at only 13 years old, by more than 23,000 subscribers on the social network, the daughter of Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy published various images of their trip, some of which have no longer been visible since (because they were put in “story” and therefore deleted after twenty-four hours). The photos range from the plane ride in front of a screen displaying “Seychelles Mahe” as a final destination, coconuts pierced with a straw and placed facing the Indian Ocean… including a selfie with “dad” in the background mid-phone call. The presence of Nicolas Sarkozy in Seychelles was widely noticed and commented on while the ex-president has just been definitively sentenced for corruption and influence peddling, in the wiretapping affair (known as the “Bismuth affair”).
On December 18, the Court of Cassation confirmed the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal, sentencing him to three years of imprisonment, including one year in prison and two suspended, with an adjustment of the sentence for the fixed part. . Nicolas Sarkozy benefits from a “home detention under electronic surveillance”technical term for electronic bracelet. In these conditions, does he have the right to spend the end-of-year holidays more than 7,000 kilometers from the mainland?
“Sarkozy’s electronic bracelet goes to the Seychelles”ironically refers to X as the “Marcel” account, referring to an article from Madame Figaro. “Logically when you are sentenced to prison with an electronic bracelet, you must stay at home or nearby. But when you are Sarkozy, you can go and spend Christmas in the Seychelles”posts on the same social network another very popular account, in the name of Philippe Duval, which for its part refers to content from Purepeople.
Bracelet installed within four months
But if Nicolas Sarkozy can enjoy the Seychelles beaches, it is because he does not yet wear an electronic bracelet. For good reason, this measure will only become effective when a sentence enforcement judge (JAP) has decided on its terms. As explained Liberation in December, the JAP must summon the convicted person, examine his supporting documents, then issue an order setting in particular the times at which outings are authorized. Once contacted by the public prosecutor’s office, the JAP has a maximum period of twenty days to proceed with this summons (previously thirty days, the period was lowered from September 30, 2024). In the case of Nicolas Sarkozy, if the prosecution immediately contacted the JAP, this means that the summons must take place by Tuesday January 7. Except that, in fact, the deadline is rarely respected, underline the lawyers interviewed by CheckNews. “In this matter, it is a theoretical rule insofar as the courts administering sentences are overloaded and continue to incarcerate”confirms Olivier Cahn, lecturer at Paris-Nanterre University. Which also notes that here, “Nicolas Sarkozy’s personality works in his favor” : “We are dealing with someone who offers all the guarantees of representation, since it is easy to know where he is and what he is doing. So it is less of a priority compared to a person who would be on the street for example.”
Even once the summons has passed, it may take some time before Nicolas Sarkozy is required to wear his bracelet. In fact, the sentencing judge must issue the order establishing the terms of execution of home detention under electronic surveillance within four months. The installation of the electronic bracelet can therefore take place several months after the conviction has become final. The law still sets a limit: “In the absence of a decision from the sentencing judge within six months”the code of criminal procedure authorizes the prosecution to carry out the sentence itself.
“More moral than legal question”
In the meantime, Nicolas Sarkozy is free to move around as he wishes. “His conviction is not accompanied by any measure restricting his freedom of movement, as long as it is not put into effectnote Olivier Cahn. We did not preventively withdraw his travel documents.” The ban on leaving the territory (IST), in all cases, can only be implemented in special cases: by the Minister of the Interior when a French person is suspected of participating in terrorist activities, or by a judge at the request of a parent who fears that their minor child will leave the territory alone or with the other parent. Only one scenario would have made it possible to limit Nicolas Sarkozy’s travel: if his prison sentence was, in addition to the adjustment regarding the firm part, accompanied by what is called a “probationary reprieve”. Instead of placing the convicted person in detention, the judge then subjects him to a certain number of prohibitions and obligations, which can be “the obligation to notify the judge of any exit from the territory”indicates Maître Antoine Ory, who practices criminal law at the Paris bar.
Ultimately, Nicolas Sarkozy did not violate any restrictions by flying to the Seychelles. “The question is ultimately more moral than legalconcludes Olivier Cahn of Paris-Nanterre University. It may seem awkward to take a trip abroad when you have just been convicted and have fought throughout your political career in favor of greater severity in the application of sentences. »
Once his electronic bracelet is on his ankle, the former President of the Republic will no longer be free to travel abroad as he wishes, since he will be required to request prior authorization from the JAP. And in accordance with the penal code, he cannot be authorized to be absent from his home “only for the time necessary to carry out a professional activity, to follow an education, an internship, training or medical treatment, to look for a job, to participate to family life or any integration or reintegration project”. Unless he manages to escape home detention by using a possibility reserved for convicts over 70 years old (Sarkozy will have them on January 28), which allows him to request conditional release whatever the duration. of the remaining sentence.
