"When a Paris court handed Nicolas Sarkozy a five-year prison sentence on Thursday for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to get election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi it was a historic moment for modern France. The rightwing Sarkozy, who served as president between 2007 and 2012, was known in office not just for his hard line on immigration and national identity but for championing harsher sentencing for delinquents."
"Sarkozy's sentence is the first time in modern French history that a former president has been ordered to turn up at the prison gates and serve time inside. Criminal investigations and trials of serving and former French politicians are not new, and voters' trust in elected officials' integrity has been in steady decline, but judges in Sarkozy's trial appeared to want to send a message that politicians will not get an easy ride."
Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over efforts by aides to procure funds for his 2007 presidential campaign from Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan regime. The sentence marked the first time in modern French history that a former president was ordered to serve time inside a prison. Judges imposed a strict provision requiring incarceration by appointment no later than 13 February, with an initial meeting with the state prosecutor set for 13 October. The head judge, Nathalie Gavarino, characterized the facts as of exceptional gravity and likely to undermine citizens' trust. Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing. The case underscores France's long-running struggle with graft and declining public trust in politicians.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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