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As he arrived at La Santé prison on Tuesday, the former French leader shared a statement overflowing with defiance via social media, asserting, "This isn't a ex-leader of the republic facing incarceration today, it's an wrongfully accused individual." A court of appeal is set to give its view the veracity of this assertion. However, regrettably for the ex-president, the spectacle and significance of his decline cannot be dismissed.

The Guilty Verdict

President of France from 2007 to 2012, the former president was judged culpable of illegal collaboration to acquire illegal financing from the regime of the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. Given a five-year sentence, he has emerged as the first former leader of an European Union nation to go behind bars, and the earliest French head of state since the dishonored head of wartime France, the Vichy leader. In a country where the democratically selected head of state holds a almost king-like position, the recent unprecedented scene was a defining instance.

Public Trust and Legal Consequences

At a time when faith in political institutions in France has plummeted to the degree where warning signs are evident, it was also a salutary demonstration that no one is above the law. According to a survey published this week, two-thirds of respondents said that they believed a majority of elected officials were corrupt, and almost 90% reported that the majority acted mainly out of individual benefit. In sentencing Mr Sarkozy and mandating that his prison term should begin without delay, the court official, Nathalie Gavarino, declared that she factored in both the extremely serious character of the offences and the fact that they were "potentially erode citizens' trust."

Judicial Threats

Those thoughts might be deemed typical, notably because that the ex-president has in the past been found guilty in other graft trials. Yet the Sarkozy trial and its aftermath have disturbingly laid bare the degree to which across the country, as in other countries, the rule of law is threatened by a newly fashionable disdain for courts and the attempted manipulation of public opinion.

In Trumpian fashion, an thorough and detailed judicial procedure has been baselessly portrayed by his backers as a judicial plot and political retaliation. Subsequent to the decision recently, the ex-leader publicly criticized his sentence as invalid and condemned the "hatred" with "no restraints" that reportedly inspired it. As high-ranking leaders and advocates from the conservative and extremist have filled the airwaves and conservative press with the same talking points, the judicial figure has received multiple threats.

Public Response

Encouragingly, the citizens seems unconvinced. Research following the judgment found comfortable majorities backing both the conduct of Mr Sarkozy's trial and his punishment. However the drama, and the naked attempt to weaken the standing of the legal system, was in all likelihood only a preliminary test. During winter, Marine Le Pen's appeal against a conviction for diversion of electoral finances will occur. If unsuccessful, the conservative figure will be disqualified from participating in the future campaign.

Future Implications

Across a fragmented and doubtful society, that will be a risky period for the French judiciary to handle. The former president might eventually exit before his own appeal, subsequent to a petition by his legal team. But the unfounded and damaging assaults on the judicial framework at all stages of his trial have established a harmful example.