Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving his prison sentence after being convicted in the long-running \u201cLibya funding\u201d case, marking the first time a French leader has been jailed since World War II collaborator Philippe P\u00e9tain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarkozy\u2019s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, confirmed that a request for his client\u2019s release had been immediately filed, but said the former president is expected to remain behind bars for at least three weeks to a month while awaiting a decision from the Paris appeals court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe court has up to two months to decide whether to free him pending appeal, but the delay is usually shorter,\u201d Ingrain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solitary Confinement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to prison officials, Sarkozy, 70, will be held in a nine-square-metre (95-square-foot) cell in the solitary confinement wing of a Paris prison to ensure his safety. He will be kept apart from other inmates and allowed one hour of solitary exercise daily in a small yard. He will also be permitted three visits per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former president reportedly told Le Figaro<\/em> newspaper that he plans to spend his time reading a biography of Jesus and \u201cThe Count of Monte Cristo,\u201d<\/em> the classic novel about an innocent man wrongly imprisoned who later seeks revenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u2018Libyan Case\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarkozy\u2019s conviction stems from allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign was illegally financed with funds from the regime of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prosecutors said Sarkozy\u2019s aides struck a deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to secure millions of euros in illicit campaign funding in exchange for helping rehabilitate Libya\u2019s global image after the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and a similar 1989 attack over Niger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy, it did not conclude that he personally received or used the alleged Libyan funds. He was acquitted of embezzlement of Libyan public funds, passive corruption, and illegal campaign financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History of Legal Troubles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarkozy has faced multiple legal challenges since leaving office in 2012. Earlier, he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling for attempting to bribe a judge. He served that sentence under house arrest while wearing an electronic ankle tag, which was removed in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also awaits a ruling from France\u2019s top court in another case involving illegal campaign financing during his 2012 re-election bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of his earlier conviction, Sarkozy was stripped of France\u2019s highest honour \u2014 the Legion of Honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Public and Political Reactions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent Elabe poll found that six out of ten French citizens view Sarkozy\u2019s prison sentence as \u201cfair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his convictions, Sarkozy continues to command loyalty among conservatives. He has maintained occasional contact with President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted him at the Elys\u00e9e Palace last Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commenting on the meeting, Macron told reporters, \u201cIt was normal, on a human level, for me to receive one of my predecessors in this context.\u201d Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, remains one of the most polarising figures in modern French politics \u2014 admired by supporters for his tough stance on security and economics, yet criticised by others for his turbulent presidency and persistent legal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving his prison sentence after being convicted in the long-running \u201cLibya funding\u201d case, marking the first time a French leader has been jailed since World War II collaborator Philippe P\u00e9tain. Sarkozy\u2019s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, confirmed that a request for his client\u2019s release had been immediately filed, but said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38,35],"tags":[2181,2183,2179,2182,2180],"class_list":["post-2705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-world","tag-corruption","tag-emmanuel-macron","tag-france","tag-libya-funding","tag-nicolas-sarkozy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t