Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, the country’s highest distinction, after being convicted of corruption and influence peddling last year.
The announcement in a decree published in Sunday’s Official Bulletin deals another blow to the 70-year-old politician who has been mired in legal turmoil since leaving office in 2012.
Sarkozy is now the second former French head of state to be stripped of the award, joining Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain, who was convicted in August 1945 for high treason and conspiring with the enemy.
Last year, France’s highest court upheld Sarkozy’s conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former French president.
Also last year, an appeals court confirmed a separate conviction for illegal campaign financing in his failed re-election bid in 2012.
Sarkozy is currently on trial in a third case, accused of raking in tens of millions of euros in campaign funds as part of a “corruption pact” with the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi – charges the French politician denies.
Sarkozy has blamed members of Gaddafi’s inner circle who disclosed details of the alleged financing, claiming they are motivated by revenge for his support of the antigovernment uprising in Libya.
If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to seven years behind bars and a five-year ban from running for office. A verdict is expected in September.
While the Legion of Honour’s rules generally disqualify anyone convicted of a criminal offence, France’s President Emmanuel Macron – who, as head of state, has the final authority over the order – had previously refrained from revoking Sarkozy’s honour.
The Legion of Honour code states: “Any person sentenced for a crime or to a definitive prison term of at least one year is excluded.”
Source: Aljazeera
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