By Mary Zakharia | Staff Writer
In the first case of a president’s sentencing to prison in post-war France, ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who served one term from 2007 to 2012, has been found guilty of illegally funding his failed re-election campaign in 2012. While in presidency, reporters and critics had dubbed Sarkozy as “bling-bling” in reference to his leadership style; he was considered brash, was very celebrity-driven, and too hyperactive. Sarkozy is still heavily influential to French conservatives- it has been reported that he is guiding them in choosing a conservative candidate for the upcoming presidential election. This news comes after the recent arrest of Sarkozy in March, in which he was sentenced to jail for corruption. In the first arrest, Sarkozy was found guilty of bribing a judge after his term as president through offering the judge a prestigious job offer in exchange for information on another confidential case. Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in jail; however, his lawyers had filed for appeal which has suspended the ruling.
Sarkozy’s latest conviction was due to his spending of a higher amount of euros, tens of millions of euros more, on his campaign than allowed under French law. Sarkozy denies any of the claims towards him for either conviction, stating that he “would go right to the end and seek truth and justice”. In addition to this, Sarkozy welcomed the trial, claiming that it “would reveal the truth and clean my name”. Sarkozy was not the only one on trial for the overfunded campaign: thirteen other people had been convicted for their role in the scandal. Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison; however, the court ruled that he can serve house arrest with an electronic watch instead.