Former French President Sarkozy was found guilty of corruption, but he probably won't spend a day behind bars
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A court found former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of forming a "corruption pact" with his lawyer and a senior magistrate, handing him a three-year prison sentence after the verdict was announced. But Sarkozy, the first president to be sentenced to jail in France's modern history, likely won't spend any time behind bars, The Guardian reports.
Two of the three years are suspended, and Sarkozy will likely be able to serve the one remaining year by wearing an electronic bracelet or in home confinement. Per France 24, that's pretty much par for the course for whenever a French politician is sentenced.
2) It’s a 3 year jail term but 2 of those years are suspended, so the 1 year prison bit could be amended so Sarkozy could serve it at home and/or wearing an electronic bracelet. As one knowledgeable French observer put it, politicians get a jail sentence but never do time 2/3
— Catherine Norris-Trent (@cntrentF24) March 1, 2021
While he'll remain out of prison for now, Sarkozy still faces more legal hurdles. In just over two weeks, he'll again be on trial in relation to allegations that he violated campaign financing rules during his failed 2012 re-election bid, and he's still being investigated for allegedly receiving millions of euros in campaign funds from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddaffi in 2007. Read more at The Guardian and CNN.
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