Far-right National Rally not a danger' to France, Sarkozy claims

"Sarkozy's comments in The Diary of a Prisoner come as Le Pen's party appeals to traditional right voters in an attempt to broaden its base ahead of the 2027 presidential race. The comments were in stark contrast to Sarkozy's stance against the far right when he won the presidency in 2007, and his call in 2022 for voters to back the centrist Emmanuel Macron against Le Pen in the interests of France at the last presidential election."

"In the book, to be published on Wednesday, Sarkozy details the time he spent in jail before being released last month, pending an appeal against his conviction over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy, who is the first president in the history of modern France to have gone to jail, said he called Le Pen to thank her for her courageous and unambiguous support of him after he was convicted."

Nicolas Sarkozy said Marine Le Pen's National Rally is not a danger to France and he will not back a united front of parties against her. He said many former supporters are now potential Le Pen voters and he appeared to include the RN within a broader right. He wrote rebuilding the right must proceed by gathering as broadly as possible, without exclusions or opprobrium. Sarkozy spent 20 days in prison on a criminal conspiracy sentence and appealed a conviction linked to alleged Libyan campaign funds. He thanked Le Pen for her support and called her disqualification from running shocking.

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