IHe will not sleep a single evening in prison, but he will, however, be weighted down with a bracelet. This Wednesday, December 18, the Court of Cassation officially rejected Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal in the so-called “wiretapping” case.
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The former President of the Republic, convicted of corruption and influence peddling, will have to serve one year under an electronic bracelet. This sentence is accompanied by deprivation of his civil rights for the same period. Many rights will therefore be withdrawn from the former head of state during this period.
Right to vote suspended and ineligibility for one year
Article 131-26 of the Penal Code specifies the contours of these prohibitions on civil rights. Let us imagine that, once again, Emmanuel Macron decides to dissolve the National Assembly again in the summer of 2025; his predecessor would then not be able to slip his ballot into the box, the law depriving him of the right to vote. Likewise, what if Nicolas Sarkozy had any desire to return to run for political office – for example for an early presidential election that Jean-Luc Mélenchon or Marine Le Pen are calling for? Impossible, he is ineligible.
ALSO READ Nicolas Sarkozy condemned, the humiliation of the former presidentAdded to these two serious consequences, for the professional lawyer, is the impossibility “of exercising a judicial function or being an expert before a court, of representing or assisting a party before the courts”. Finally, Nicolas Sarkozy cannot testify in court “other than to make simple statements”.
Can Nicolas Sarkozy lose his Legion of Honor?
The law also specifies that the convicted person cannot be a guardian or curator. This deprivation “cannot exceed a duration of ten years in the event of conviction for a crime and a duration of five years in the event of conviction for a misdemeanor”, it is finally specified.
Not holding any public office, Nicolas Sarkozy will not have to fear being incapacitated to exercise it as also provided for in the Penal Code. Another possible consequence, less known and highly symbolic, concerns the Legion of Honor: the former president could in fact lose this badge.
ALSO READ “Distressing”: Nicolas Sarkozy criticizes the appointment of François BayrouSince the creation of the order in 1802, the head of state has held the supreme position of grand master of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest dignity. This title is conferred on each President of the Republic by right, upon his first inauguration. Nicolas Sarkozy has therefore benefited from it since 2007. But his sentence potentially exposes him to exclusion.
Emmanuel Macron has the cards in hand
According to article R91 of the code of the Legion of Honor, the military medal and the National Order of Merit, “people convicted of crime and those sentenced to a prison sentence are excluded from the order without suspension equal to or greater than one year.” Nicolas Sarkozy falls into this second category.
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Kangaroo of the day
Answer
Article R106 specifies that “exclusion and suspension are pronounced by decree of the President of the Republic”. The withdrawal of the Legion of Honor (and that of wearing the insignia) is therefore not automatic. In the absence of a decree from the Head of State published in the Official Journal, the status quo dominates. Would Emmanuel Macron therefore dare to deliver this Trafalgar blow to his predecessor?
ALSO READ Sarkozy and Hollande, the secret dinnerAfter the decision of the Court of Cassation, Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would refer the matter to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), his final recourse. However, this procedure does not prevent the application of the sanctions imposed. If he were deprived of his Legion of Honor, he would go down in history as being the second head of state to lose his decoration, after Philippe Pétain, who had already tried to remove Charles de Gaulle from it.
