It is the first time that a former French head of state has been sentenced to prison. On Wednesday December 18, the Court of Cassation rejected Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal in the wiretapping case. He is thus definitively sentenced, just like his former lawyer Thierry Herzog and the high magistrate Gilbert Azibert, for corruption and influence peddling to three years of imprisonment, one year of which is spent under an electronic bracelet. “I want to reiterate my perfect innocence and remain convinced of my right. My determination is total on this issue as on the others. The truth will ultimately triumph. At that time, everyone will have to account to the French”wrote Nicolas Sarkozy on X shortly after the announcement of the high court’s decision.
His lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, announced to him that he will refer the matter to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), notably still contesting the legality of the wiretapping at the heart of the case. “My rights as a litigant have been violated both in terms of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and that of the Constitutional Council. The appeal that I am filing before the ECHR could unfortunately lead to France being convicted”justified Nicolas Sarkozy. In the meantime, here are the legal steps awaiting the former head of state.
A summons before the sentence enforcement judge
In its decision of May 17, 2023, which became final on Wednesday, the Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Nicolas Sarkozy to three years of imprisonment, including one year in prison and two years in prison. He also faces three years of ineligibility (prohibition from voting, being elected and exercising a judicial function).
The suspended sentence does not apply unless the convicted person commits a new offense within five years. Concerning the firm part, the court of appeal decided to arrange it directly under the regime of the “home detention under electronic surveillance” (DDSE), the technical term for the bracelet. However, the modalities remain to be determined.
The general public prosecutor’s office of the Court of Appeal will therefore refer this matter to a sentence enforcement judge (JAP) in Paris. This JAP will then summon Nicolas Sarkozy to appear before him, in principle within 20 days (but these deadlines may vary).
Terms of application set within four months?
During this meeting, the convicted person must provide supporting documents that the JAP will examine in order to determine the place of assignment (home) and release times, during the week and at weekends. For example, a convict may be allowed to leave his home between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., in order to go to work. Specific obligations can also be added, such as not exercising a profession linked to the offense or paying the damages to which he was sentenced (there are none in the Bismuth 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 placed. By law, the order must be issued within four months of the sentencing decision. But, here again, the deadlines can vary depending on the case, especially since Nicolas Sarkozy must appear in January at the Paris court in the Libyan financing affair, which could postpone the application of his sentence.
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 this moment, if the convicted person is not at home at the set time, an alert is triggered.
The electronic bracelet is the number one development in France. As of November 1, 2024, 15,591 people wore one, out of a total of 96,569 people imprisoned, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.
A possible request for parole
If he wants to change job, place of residence or if he wants to move abroad, the convicted person must request prior authorization from the JAP. Then, over the months, the judge will have to decide whether to grant sentence reductions to the convicted person, based on the reports from the Prison Integration and Probation Service (Spip) which follows him on a daily basis.
Nicolas Sarkozy will be imprisoned and not detained. As he will be over 70 from January 28, he will be able to apply for parole before halfway through his sentence. It can be formulated at the first meeting with the JAP or later. This request would be considered, but not necessarily granted.
Several other legal cases in progress
This decision by the Court of Cassation comes less than three weeks before the opening of the trial of suspicions of Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign. For this trial, his criminal record remains clean, as it was at the time of the alleged acts. But the decision of the Court of Cassation is not in the interest of the defense, because Nicolas Sarkozy will appear before the judges with a final conviction. Even if he were not placed on an electronic bracelet before the end of his appearance, scheduled to last four months (from January 6 to April 10), this sentence is symbolically heavy.
Still in 2025, the Court of Cassation will also have to rule on the former president’s appeal against his sentence to one year in prison, including six months in the Bygmalion affair, concerning the excessive spending of his 2012 presidential campaign.
