The Correctional Court of Paris resumed the trial of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday. It was reported BFM TV channel.
This trial was interrupted on its first day, November 23, because the former high-ranking employee of the Court of Cassation of France, Gilbert Azibert, who is handling this case, filed a petition in which he indicated that due to health problems, in particular, cardiac disease, the arrival in Paris from Bordeaux in the conditions of the coronavirus epidemic is extremely dangerous for him. A forensic medical expert examined Azyber and reported to the court that his state of health allows the defendant to appear in the courtroom. Now the defendant will undergo a medical examination every day, during a break in the session.
As the AFP agency emphasizes, the current dispute is unprecedented for the French political world. For the first time in the history of modern France, a former head of state is on trial on suspicion of corruption and influence peddling. Of all the presidents of the Fifth Republic, only Jacques Chirac, who was later found guilty in 2011 of creating fictitious workplaces during his tenure as mayor of Paris, was brought to trial.
In relation to Sarkozy, it is about the so-called "matter of listening to telephone conversations". In addition to Sarkozy, his lawyer Thierry Erzog and former judge of the Court of Cassation Gilbert Azibert are also identified as his co-conspirators.
As the investigation established, Sarkozy, through his lawyer, promised assistance to Aziber in obtaining a position in Monaco in exchange for confidential information about another investigation, which concerns the case of possible illegal financing of Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007 by the heiress of the French company L'Oreal Liliane Bettencourt. The investigation has numerous records of Sarkozy's intercepted telephone conversations on this topic.
At the opening of the trial on November 65, 23-year-old Sarkozy himself qualified the justice's desire to conduct this trial as "a scandal that will remain in the history of the country." At the same time, he assured the court that he would "fulfill his obligations to him." Sarkozy is the first president to appear in court; Jean Chirac ignored the calls, citing his health. Speaking on Monday at the resumption of the hearing, Sarkozy called it a "disgrace" that he had been "followed for six years."
Sarkozy's defense spoke on Monday with a request to end the trial. At the same time, she claims that major procedural violations were committed during the investigation, in particular, during the collection of evidence regarding Sarkozy's alleged guilt.
The trial will last three weeks. Sarkozy can face up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to one million euros. Those involved in the case of ex-president Tierra Erzog and the judge of the Court of Cassation, Gilbert Azibert, are accused of disclosing a professional secret.
