The former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty by a Paris court on Monday March 1st 2021 of corruption and influence peddling in the case known as the 'Paul Bismuth affair'. The ex-head of state was handed a three-year prison sentence with two of them suspended, though it appears unlikely he will serve time in jail and his lawyer said he will appeal against the conviction. It is the first time in French legal history that a former president of the Republic has been convicted of such serious crimes. The case stemmed from judicially-approved telephone taps of conversations between Nicolas Sarkozy and his friend and lawyer Thierry Herzog, who has also been convicted in the case. Mediapart's legal affairs correspondent Michel Deléan reports, with additional reporting by Ilyes Ramdani.
On Monday 31st March 2021, after three months of deliberation, the 32nd chamber of the criminal court in Paris found former French president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling in a case known as the 'Paul Bismuth affair'. It is the first time in French legal history that a former president of the Republic has been convicted on such serious charges, which can attract up to ten years in prison.
