Sarkozy set to begin his prison term today

WEB DESK: Turns out that French President Emmanuel Macron hosted former president Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace this week, a symbolic meeting held just before Sarkozy begins serving a prison sentence — making him the first French leader in modern history to do so.

Sarkozy, 70, is due to start his sentence from today after being convicted last month of allowing aides to seek financial support from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi ahead of his 2007 presidential campaign. He continues to deny wrongdoing and has appealed the verdict.

Macron, speaking during a visit to Slovenia, said the meeting was a personal gesture, not an intervention in judicial matters. “It was normal, on a personal level, to receive one of my predecessors in this context,” he said.

According to Politico, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, a former Sarkozy ally, said he would visit the ex-president in prison, citing “concern for his security.” Sarkozy will serve his term at Paris’ Prison de la Santé, the same facility that once held Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain.

While Sarkozy can request a sentence adjustment, his incarceration underscores a dramatic fall from grace for one of France’s most dominant political figures — who, despite multiple convictions, continues to wield quiet influence on the French right.