Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, has had his Legion d’honneur (Legion of Honor) award revoked after his conviction on graft charges, according to a decree published Sunday.
He has thus become the second French head of state to be stripped of the award after Philippe Petain, who headed the collaborationist Vichy regime during World War II and was convicted in August 1945 for high treason and conspiring with the Nazi occupiers.
The widely-expected decision to take the award back from Sarkozy came despite the opposition of current French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in April that he thought that it was important for “former presidents to be respected.”
Why was the award taken from Sarkozy?
The Legion d’honneur, France’s highest order of both civil and military merit, was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Under its rules, recipients automatically lose the award if they are convicted of a crime or receive a prison sentence of at least one year.
Sarkozy, who has been dogged by legal problems since his heavy defeat in the 2012 French presidential election, has been convicted of graft. The conviction was upheld last year by an appeals court, which ordered him to wear an electronic ankle bracelet in place of a one-year jail sentence.
The 70-year-old former president, who had the electronic tag removed this month, was found guilty of trying to secure favors from a judge illegally.
Appeal underway
Sarkozy is currently appealing the conviction at the European Court of Human Rights while also being tried in a separate case on charges of accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
A verdict in the latter case is expected in September.
Sarkozy, who denies the charges, could face a seven-year prison term if prosecutors have their way.
His legal problems have not prevented him from continuing to have a political presence in right-wing politics in France, and he is also known to hold regular meetings with Macron.
During his time in office, Sarkozy worked closely with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, particularly on problems associated with the eurozone crisis, earning the pair the sobriquet “Merkozy.”
Edited by: Zac Crellin
