France’s Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour, nation’s top award

The revocation follows the erstwhile president’s condemnation for corruption and power peddling.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, the country’s highest distinction, aft being convicted of corruption and power peddling past year.

The announcement successful a decree published successful Sunday’s Official Bulletin deals different stroke to the 70-year-old person who has been mired successful ineligible turmoil since leaving bureau successful 2012.

Sarkozy is present the 2nd erstwhile French caput of authorities to beryllium stripped of the award, joining Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain, who was convicted successful August 1945 for precocious treason and conspiring with the enemy.

Last year, France’s highest tribunal upheld Sarkozy’s condemnation for corruption and power peddling, ordering him to deterioration an physics tag for a year, a archetypal for a erstwhile French president.

Also past year, an appeals tribunal confirmed a abstracted condemnation for amerciable run financing successful his failed re-election bid successful 2012.

Sarkozy is presently on proceedings successful a 3rd case, accused of raking successful tens of millions of euros successful run funds arsenic portion of a “corruption pact” with the precocious Libyan person Muammar Gaddafi – charges the French person denies.

Sarkozy has blamed members of Gaddafi’s interior ellipse who disclosed details of the alleged financing, claiming they are motivated by revenge for his enactment of the antigovernment uprising successful Libya.

If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 7 years down bars and a five-year prohibition from moving for office. A verdict is expected successful September.

While the Legion of Honour’s rules mostly disqualify anyone convicted of a transgression offence, France’s President Emmanuel Macron – who, arsenic caput of state, has the last authorization implicit the bid – had antecedently refrained from revoking Sarkozy’s honour.

The Legion of Honour codification states: “Any idiosyncratic sentenced for a transgression oregon to a definitive situation word of astatine slightest 1 twelvemonth is excluded.”

Sarkozy, a subordinate of the centre-right Republicans enactment (LR), retired from progressive authorities successful 2017 but retains a pursuing and “is known to regularly conscionable with Macron”, according to France’s Le Monde newspaper.