00:0013 years after Nicolas Sarkozy left office and he's set to become the first former French
00:04president to be sent to prison. He was sentenced to five years for his part in a scheme for late
00:10Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential run. As significant as the verdict
00:17was, so too was a sentence. Sarkozy was cleared of three of the most serious charges, illegal party
00:22funding, embezzlement, and corruption, but found guilty of the least significant charge,
00:27criminal association. Joining us on the set is France 24's own Shirley Sittbonne. Hello to you,
00:33Shirley. Hello. You were in the courtroom yesterday. Talk to us a little bit about what you saw and then
00:40the international reaction as well. Yes, it was very interesting and sometimes it was quiet,
00:46then there was misunderstanding, confusion, and tension. Why? Well, first of all, it started a
00:51bit differently. Throughout the trial, the various accused with Sarkozy were sitting next to their
00:56lawyers. But this time when we got into court, we saw that there were seats placed in front of the
01:00judges. And when the presiding judge arrived, she said of the accused, please sit on those seats and
01:07not next to your lawyers. It's like Nicolas Sarkozy and his friend Brice Ortefeu, co-accused former
01:13minister, were still sitting next to their attorneys. So she said, Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Ortefeu, please sit
01:20in front of us. So there's a bit of tension. Then the judge says that he was acquitted in several
01:26of the charges. So this was a surprise. And then two hours later, the tension rose further because
01:33two of his co-accused were told they would be arrested immediately. And then we saw police
01:39officers. Yes, this is during sentencing. Exactly. During the sentencing, the police officers walked
01:44towards two of the co-accused. And then the presiding judge said, now Nicolas Sarkozy,
01:49please come forward. So everyone was thinking, will he be arrested in front of us now in court?
01:54So a lot of tension. She said he will be arrested, but not immediately because he wasn't a flight
01:59risk. But yes, it was pretty shocking. You can feel the shock in the courtroom throughout. And there
02:08was a lot of international press. We can see some of the coverage from international media with many
02:16pointing out to a historic moment, of course, for France. This is the first time that a French
02:22president, former French president will be arrested with the Guardian and others talking about a
02:29spectacular downfall, a turning point also in France's long running struggle to deal with graft and
02:34criminal allegations against politicians. The first time and many noting that Nicolas Sarkozy during
02:41his time in office pleaded tirelessly for tougher sanctions against all criminals. And some of his
02:47opponents today and yesterday were mocking him actually saying, oh, well, you wanted criminals in
02:52jail where you're going there. So that's and many people saying that that was a bit harsh because,
02:56yeah, he was cleared of several of the harshest charges. Yeah, clear to the three of the harshest
03:02charges. But as you mentioned, he was convicted of that last and the least significant charge,
03:08criminal association. Yes, absolutely. But that was enough. And actually, the judges have always said
03:16that, you know, even because why? Why was he cleared of the other charges? Because they proved that money
03:23indeed was transferred from the Libyans. The idea that he was accused of having this pact with Muammar
03:29Gaddafi's regime, that he would get money to finance his campaign. Meanwhile, once in office,
03:35he would invite him, clear his name, have various business deals with Libya. And the judges said from
03:41the beginning, indeed, you there's no proof that Nicolas Sarkozy got the money. We believe you didn't
03:46get that money. There's no proof his party got the money. They said he didn't get the money. In fact,
03:50his campaign manager was cleared entirely. He was acquitted. And but the judges said, well, that's not it's not,
03:57you're not innocent because you didn't get the money, because we believe you did take part of
04:02the planning of this pact that they were trying to get the money. Exactly. Because two of your closest
04:08advisors, your ministers, they went to Libya. They met with a convicted terrorist. They admitted to
04:14it in two secret meetings. And then various lawyers, including Nicolas Sarkozy's lawyer and also Jacques
04:22Chirac, the previous president's lawyer, met with that same terrorist explaining he was a wanted man in
04:28Europe. He wanted to return to Europe, that terrorist. And they explained his legal situation. For the judges,
04:33this proved there was some kind of pact. Also, the fact that money had been transferred from Libya to
04:40middlemen who were in contact with Nicolas Sarkozy's advisors, even though he never got the money. They said the plan was
04:47there. The evidence proves it. And even though you did not meet with Muammar Gaddafi personally, you did not meet
04:54with a convicted terrorist, you did not meet much with the middleman. Still, you're at the heart of this.
04:59Yeah. And Sarkozy, as he's addressing the press there on those images behind you, we heard him being emotionally
05:06choked up. And one of the reasons was is because even if he files an appeal, jail time is certain. Yes. And that is
05:13definitely a debate here now in France, because usually this was the case. People were still sent
05:19to jail even before the appeal when they were a threat to society. And now Nicolas Sarkozy, I mean,
05:24the judges themselves say he's not a threat to society, but they said that what he did was so
05:29serious that he put a, you know, it put a risk. The trust society has in elected officials in the
05:36institutions was so serious. It's not the first time he's convicted. That's why he's going to jail.
05:41Now, under French law, pending appeal, the person who files that appeal is presumed innocent.
05:48Yes. And you will get a second trial. But still, this happened back in March with Marine Le Pen,
05:53national rallies leader, who was, she was sentenced to not be able to, she was stripped of the right
05:59to run for office to become France's next president, perhaps, because of her party, you know,
06:06misusing European funds. She asked for an appeal as well. She will get that appeals trial. But
06:12still, the decision, the sentencing is applied immediately. She cannot run for office. And she
06:18actually was the first to speak out yesterday saying this is a scandal. Nicolas Sarkozy is exactly
06:23like me. This is a generalized problem now with the with the courts. So yes, this is becoming a greater
06:29issue. And the far right is playing on this. But this is a true debate for many here in France about
06:35these immediately enforceable rulings that surely thank you very much released upon from our news desk.
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