News24
23 Nov 2020, 23:42 GMT+10
France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial Monday on charges of corruption, becoming the first French ex-head of state to stand as an accused in the dock and risking a humiliating end to a career tainted by legal woes.
Sarkozy, who has vowed to vigorously contest the accusations of bribery, was himself present in court in Paris but did not make any statement to reporters, an AFP correspondent said.
Only one other president, Sarkozy's political mentor Jacques Chirac, has faced trial after leaving office - but because of ill health, Chirac never appeared in court for his conviction in a fake-jobs scandal.
The bribery inquiry also saw Sarkozy become the first ex-president taken into police custody for questioning after it was launched six years ago.
He fought furiously to have the case thrown out, denouncing "a scandal that will go down in history."
"I am not a crook," the 65-year-old, whose combative style made him one of France's most popular politicians, told BFM TV this month.
Prosecutors say Sarkozy promised a judge a plush job in Monaco in exchange for inside information on a separate inquiry into claims he had accepted illicit payments from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt during his 2007 presidential campaign.
Part of the evidence comes from wiretaps of phone conversations between Sarkozy and his longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog, authorised as part of a third probe into suspected Libyan financing of Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.
That inquiry is still going on, though Sarkozy caught a break this month when his main accuser retracted a central claim of having delivered millions of euros in cash from Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Sarkozy and Herzog had argued the wiretaps breached client-lawyer privilege but the courts dismissed their complaints.
Charged with bribery and influence peddling, Sarkozy risks a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of one million euros.
Herzog faces the same charges and a further allegation of violating professional secrecy. The trial is expected to last until 10 December.
Dressed in a business suit with a sanitary mask, Sarkozy waved to his lawyers as he entered the court.
- Like a 'seasoned offender' -
Investigators discovered that Sarkozy used an alias - Paul Bismuth - to buy a phone for secret talks with his lawyer.
The pair discussed reaching out to a top French judge Gilbert Azibert, who prosecutors say was tasked with getting information trying to sway the Bettencourt inquiry in Sarkozy's favour.
In exchange, Sarkozy would use his contacts to try to secure the cushy Monaco post for Azibert, who is also on trial.
"I'll make him move up," Sarkozy told Herzog, according to prosecutors, who compared his actions to those of a "seasoned offender".
But later, Sarkozy appeared to back away from the Monaco plan - a sign, according to prosecutors, that the two men had been tipped off about the wiretaps.
"All this is nothing more than sentence fragments taken out of context," Herzog's lawyer Paul-Albert Iweins told France Info radio on Monday, calling them "conversations between very old friends".
- Still in limelight -
Sarkozy, a lawyer by training, says the judiciary have been waging a vendetta because he attempted to limit judges' powers and accused many of being too soft on delinquents.
He is due back in court in March 2021 along with 13 other people over claims of campaign finance violations during his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid.
Prosecutors accuse Sarkozy's team of using a fake-invoices scheme orchestrated by the public relations firm Bygmalion to spend nearly 43 million euros on the lavish run - nearly twice the legal limit.
His long-running legal travails helped sink his comeback bid for the 2017 presidential vote, but Sarkozy has surfed on a wave of popularity since announcing his retirement from politics in 2018, pressing the flesh with enthusiastic crowds at public appearances.
Lines of fans queued over the summer to have him sign his latest memoir "The Time of Storms", which topped best-seller lists for weeks.
Get a daily dose of Irish Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.
More InformationCNN - In a recent interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly expressed strong opposition to President...
NEWARK, New Jersey: Over the weekend, a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane hit a bird while taking off from Newark Airport. One of its...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Pentagon told its civilian employees that they must provide a list of five bullet points detailing their accomplishments...
MELBOURNE, Australia: An Australian warship rescued Lithuanian adventurer Aurimas Mockus this week after he became stranded in the...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. is sending about 3,000 more soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump pushes to stop...
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland: Maryland's largest managed care organization for Medicaid recipients has had its accreditation suspended, prompting...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Drivers in Ireland overpaid more than 350,000 euros in tolls last year across nine motorways and tunnels, according...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland could face fines of up to 27 billion euros for failing to meet EU emissions targets, a new report has warned....
DUBLIN, Ireland: Homelessness in Ireland has reached an all-time high, with 15,286 people in emergency accommodation in January 2025,...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Coffeewerk + Press, located on Quay Street in Galway city center, ranked 39th on the prestigious list—it is the only...
Dublin [Ireland], March 8 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Irish counterpart, Simon Harris and said both the countries...
BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week: 1. Olympic speed skating champion Gao...