Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest national award, following his conviction for corruption, according to an official decree published on Sunday.
Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has faced a string of legal troubles since leaving office. An appeals court last year upheld his conviction for attempting to bribe a judge and influence judicial proceedings, sentencing him to a year under electronic surveillance instead of jail time.
Despite opposition from current President Emmanuel Macron, the revocation of the honour followed the official rules of the order. Sarkozy is now the second French head of state to lose the distinction, after Philippe Pétain, the Nazi collaborator convicted of treason in 1945.
Earlier this month, Sarkozy’s electronic monitoring ended. He is currently appealing his conviction at the European Court of Human Rights. Meanwhile, he is also standing trial over allegations of illegal campaign financing tied to former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year sentence in that case, with a verdict expected in September. Sarkozy denies all wrongdoing.
Despite his ongoing legal challenges, the former president remains an influential figure on France’s political right and is known to have regular meetings with President Macron.
AFP
