French President Emmanuel Macron rallies behind France’s Judicial institutions as former president Nicolas Sarkozy denounced his conviction for criminal association over Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.
Speaking on September 28, Macron underlined that judicial independence remains “the foundation of French democracy”.
Court decisions, he said, can be debated or criticised but “always with respect for each individual” and primarily through the appeals process.
His remarks followed anger expressed by Sarkozy and his supporters after the Paris court on September 25 ordered the “provisional enforcement” of his sentence to five years in prison, despite his pending appeal.
Sarkozy, who denies wrongdoing, accused prosecutors and investigating judges of pursuing him for more than a decade “at all costs”.
“What is striking is the extent of the resources deployed over the past 12 years by the investigating judges and the public prosecutor’s office in their attempts to establish my guilt at all costs,” he said.
“It [the court ruling] went even further than I could have imagined. All the limits of the rule of law were violated,” he added.
Judicial bodies have pushed back against the attacks.
On September 27, the High Council of the Judiciary condemned what it described as “threats and personal attacks aimed at undermining the impartiality” of magistrates in the case.
“Freedom of expression allows for criticism but insults seeking to delegitimise judges cannot be tolerated,” the Council said.
The French Association of Criminal Lawyers (ADAP) took a more nuanced view, noting that while the ruling was legally consistent, it highlighted long-standing flaws in the offence of criminal association and the paradoxical nature of provisional enforcement.
Still, the group stressed that magistrates applying the law should not be targeted personally: “Those who now denounce the law are often the same political forces that once reinforced it,” ADAP said.
The clash over Sarkozy’s conviction is the latest episode in France’s broader battles regarding judicial authority.
Earlier this year, right-wing de facto leader of National Rally, Marine Le Pen, was convicted of embezzling European Union funds. She was banned from holding elected office for five years, effective immediately, thus preventing her from running in France’s next presidential election in 2027.
Following the ruling, the judge in the Le Pen case faced death threats on X.
