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While he made his way at the Parisian detention facility this week, the former French leader published a declaration filled with opposition via social media, writing, "It's not a ex-leader of the nation facing incarceration today, it's an wrongfully accused individual." A court of appeal is set to decide regarding the accuracy of this assertion. Yet sadly for the ex-president, the turmoil and impact of his decline cannot simply be wished away.

The Legal Judgment

President of France from 2007 to 2012, the former president was convicted of illegal collaboration to obtain illicit campaign funds from the government of the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Given a half-decade incarceration, he has been recorded as the first former leader of an EU member state to be imprisoned, and the first French leader since the disgraced head of Vichy France, Marshal Pétain. Across France where the democratically selected head of state possesses a quasi-monarchical status, this week's extraordinary spectacle was a historic occasion.

Public Trust and Judicial Responsibility

During a period when trust in government bodies in France has declined drastically to the degree where alarms are sounding, it was also a sobering reminder that the law applies to all. In a poll released this week, over 65% of those surveyed said that they felt a most of government figures were dishonest, and almost 90% claimed that most operated primarily out of self-interest. In sentencing the former president and mandating that his sentence should start immediately, the judge, the judge, said that she considered both the profoundly severe aspect of the offences and the fact that they were "could damage public confidence."

Judicial Threats

Those thoughts might be seen as ordinary, especially given that Mr Sarkozy has before been convicted in other graft trials. However the legal proceedings and its consequences have troublingly exposed the degree to which within the nation, as in other countries, the rule of law is threatened by a increasingly common disrespect toward legal institutions and the try to influence of the popular view.

In Trumpian fashion, an thorough and detailed court case has been falsely depicted by his backers as a judicial plot and political retaliation. Following the ruling last month, the ex-leader publicly criticized his sentence as unlawful and decried the "hostility" with "no restraints" that allegedly motivated it. While senior politicians and backers from the conservative and extremist have filled the airwaves and conservative press with the similar rhetoric, the judge has received multiple threats.

Public Response

Reassuringly, the citizens largely rejects this narrative. A survey after the ruling found comfortable majorities backing both the handling of the courtroom process and his punishment. But the turmoil, and the naked attempt to damage the credibility of the court system, was most probably merely a dress rehearsal. In January, the far-right leader's court petition against a conviction for embezzlement of political funds will occur. If the appeal fails, the far-right National Rally leader will be ruled out from competing in the 2027 presidential race.

Long-term Effects

In a polarised and mistrustful nation, that will be a dangerous time for the French judiciary to manage. The former president might eventually exit ahead of his next legal challenge, after an application by his lawyers. Yet the unfounded and damaging assaults on the legal system throughout his case have set a damaging precedent.