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While he made his way at the Parisian detention facility on Tuesday, Nicolas Sarkozy shared a message brimming with defiance via social media, stating, "It's not a former president of the republic who is being jailed this morning, but rather an wrongfully accused individual." An appellate court will in time rule on the accuracy of this assertion. Yet sadly for Mr Sarkozy, the drama and significance of his downfall cannot simply be wished away.

The Guilty Verdict

President of France from 2007 to 2012, Mr Sarkozy was convicted of illegal collaboration to obtain illegal financing from the administration of the late Libyan dictator, Colonel Gaddafi. Given a five-year prison term, he has been recorded as the initial ex-head of an EU country to go behind bars, and the earliest French head of state since the shamed head of the Vichy regime, the Vichy leader. Across France where the democratically selected head of state holds a quasi-monarchical status, the recent extraordinary spectacle was a seminal moment.

Public Trust and Legal Accountability

During a period when confidence in political systems in France has plummeted to the degree where alarms are sounding, it was also a sobering reminder that everyone is subject to the law. According to a survey published this week, a majority of participants said that they believed a large number of politicians were unethical, and nearly nine out of 10 said that the majority operated primarily out of self-interest. While judging the former president and ordering that his prison term should start immediately, the court official, Nathalie Gavarino, noted that she factored in both the profoundly severe aspect of the offences and the fact that they were "could damage public confidence."

Judicial Threats

These considerations might be considered unexceptional, notably because that the ex-president has in the past been convicted in other graft trials. Yet the Sarkozy trial and its aftermath have disturbingly laid bare the degree to which in France, as in various states, the legal system is endangered by a recently popular disdain for courts and the attempted manipulation of public opinion.

Following a populist playbook, an comprehensive and precise legal process has been groundlessly presented by the former president's allies as a courtroom scheme and ideological revenge. After the verdict last month, the former president effectively denounced his sentence as unlawful and condemned the "animosity" with "no boundaries" that allegedly motivated it. As prominent officials and supporters from the conservative and extremist have saturated public discourse and traditional outlets with the similar rhetoric, the judicial figure has received numerous death threats.

Citizen Reaction

Reassuringly, the citizens does not appear to be buying it. A post-verdict poll found significant majorities supporting both the proceedings of the legal case and his conviction. However the spectacle, and the blatant effort to damage the credibility of the court system, was in all likelihood just a trial run. Next year, the National Rally figure's appeal against a conviction for embezzlement of political funds will take place. Should she lose it, the political candidate will be disqualified from running in the 2027 presidential race.

Coming Consequences

Across a fragmented and doubtful society, that will be a dangerous time for the national legal system to navigate. The former president might eventually exit prior to his appeal hearing, after an application by his attorneys. But the unfounded and damaging assaults on the court system before, during and after his trial have established a harmful example.