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While he arrived at La Santé prison on Tuesday, Nicolas Sarkozy shared a statement filled with resistance via social media, writing, "It's not a former president of the nation entering prison this morning, it's an wrongfully accused individual." A court of appeal will in time decide regarding the veracity of this assertion. However, regrettably for the ex-president, the drama and significance of his decline cannot be dismissed.

The Guilty Verdict

The French head of state during the 2007-2012 term, Mr Sarkozy was found guilty of unlawful plotting to acquire prohibited donations from the government of the late Libyan dictator, the Libyan strongman. Given a five-year prison term, he has emerged as the first former leader of an EU country to be imprisoned, and the earliest French head of state since the disgraced head of the Vichy regime, Marshal Pétain. Across France where the democratically selected head of state enjoys a near-royal standing, Tuesday's unprecedented scene was a historic occasion.

National Faith and Judicial Responsibility

During a period when confidence in political systems in France has declined drastically to the point where the lights are flashing red, it was also a salutary demonstration that no one is above the law. In a poll issued on Tuesday, a majority of participants indicated that they thought a large number of elected officials were unethical, and nearly nine out of 10 said that most behaved predominantly out of personal gain. When convicting the former president and mandating that his incarceration should begin without delay, the presiding magistrate, Nathalie Gavarino, said that she took into account both the extremely serious character of the crimes and the fact that they were "could damage the people's faith."

Legal Challenges

These considerations might be seen as ordinary, notably because that the ex-president has previously been found guilty in other graft trials. Yet the legal proceedings and its aftermath have disturbingly laid bare the scope to which across the country, as in other countries, the judicial framework is threatened by a newly fashionable disdain for courts and the attempted manipulation of the popular view.

In Trumpian fashion, an exhaustive and meticulous judicial procedure has been baselessly portrayed by Mr Sarkozy's supporters as a legal conspiracy and political retaliation. Subsequent to the decision last month, the former president effectively denounced his sentence as illegal and decried the "hostility" with "no boundaries" that supposedly drove it. While prominent officials and supporters from the right and far right have filled the airwaves and right-leaning media with the same talking points, Ms Gavarino has received various menaces.

Citizen Reaction

Reassuringly, the public largely rejects this narrative. A post-verdict poll found comfortable majorities backing both the handling of the legal case and his conviction. But the spectacle, and the naked attempt to weaken the standing of the legal system, was in all likelihood merely a dress rehearsal. Next year, the National Rally figure's appeal against a judgment for embezzlement of political funds will occur. Should she lose it, the conservative figure will be ruled out from running in the 2027 presidential race.

Coming Consequences

Across a fragmented and doubtful society, that will be a perilous moment for the French judiciary to handle. Mr Sarkozy might eventually exit before his own appeal, following a request by his attorneys. Yet the irresponsible and baseless attacks on the court system at all stages of his trial have established a harmful example.