Case of the Elysee soundings
The French ex-president considered that his judicial summons was “unconstitutional” and above all “totally disproportionate”
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday refused to answer questions from the court that is trying the so-called “Elysee polls case” claiming that he is protected by presidential immunity. The French ex-president considered that his judicial summons was “unconstitutional” and above all “totally disproportionate.”
“There is an essential principle of democracies called separation of powers. And, as President of the Republic, I am not held accountable for the organization of my cabinet or the way in which I have exercised my mandate, “Sarkozy said in a preliminary statement before remaining silent. The conservative politician said that if he answered the court’s questions, “the separation of powers would not exist.”
Sarkozy, president of France between 2007 and 2012, had refused to participate as a witness in this trial. But the court forced him to attend the judicial appointment, considering that “his testimony was necessary for the manifestation of the truth.” If he did not appear, the judge said the former president would be taken to court by force.
In the end it was not necessary to call the police to take him to court. He came reluctantly. “To consider making me appear by law enforcement is perfectly unconstitutional,” complained Sarkozy. This was the first time that the French courts forced a former French head of state to testify as a witness for alleged crimes that occurred during his presidency.
Five close associates of Sarkozy have been on trial for two weeks in a Paris court. Among the accused are Claude Guéant, former secretary general of the Elysee; Emmanuel Mignon, his chief of staff; and Patrick Buisson, his head ideologue. They are accused of favoritism and embezzlement of public funds for having allegedly awarded finger contracts to carry out opinion polls or have benefited financially from it.
When Sarkozy was president, the Elysee Palace commissioned 300 opinion polls between 2007 and 2012. Some contracts, worth 7.5 million euros, were allegedly awarded without competition and paid with taxpayer money.
Sarkozy, who continues to be a benchmark on the French and European right despite his problems with justice, was already sentenced in March to one year in prison for corruption and influence peddling in the wiretapping case or the Bismuth case. And in September, he was sentenced to one year in prison for illegally financing his 2012 presidential campaign. The former head of state has appealed both sentences, although there is still no date for the new trials.
Sarkozy is also charged in another case for the alleged Libyan financing of his electoral campaign with which he won the 2007 presidential elections.
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