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While he arrived at La Santé prison on Tuesday, the former French leader shared a message brimming with defiance via social media, writing, "This isn't a former president of the nation entering prison this morning, but rather an innocent man." A court of appeal will eventually give its view the truthfulness of this assertion. But unfortunately for the ex-president, the drama and importance of his decline cannot be ignored.

The Guilty Verdict

The French head of state between 2007 and 2012, the former president was convicted of unlawful plotting to acquire prohibited donations from the regime of the former Libyan ruler, the Libyan strongman. Sentenced to a half-decade incarceration, he has emerged as the pioneering past president of an European Union nation to go behind bars, and the initial French president since the shamed head of Vichy France, Philippe Pétain. Across France where the elected president possesses a near-royal standing, Tuesday's extraordinary spectacle was a seminal moment.

Public Trust and Legal Consequences

During a period when trust in government bodies in France has plummeted to the point where the lights are flashing red, it was also a instructive example that no one is above the law. As per a study published on Tuesday, two-thirds of respondents indicated that they believed a large number of politicians were corrupt, and the vast majority said that most operated primarily out of individual benefit. In sentencing Mr Sarkozy and ordering that his incarceration should commence promptly, the court official, the judge, declared that she took into account both the exceptionally grave nature of the crimes and the fact that they were "likely to undermine citizens' trust."

Legal Challenges

Such reflections might be considered unexceptional, notably because that the ex-president has before been found guilty in other graft trials. Yet the Sarkozy trial and its aftermath have alarmingly revealed the scope to which across the country, as in other countries, the rule of law is threatened by a increasingly common contempt for the judiciary and the attempted manipulation of public opinion.

Using divisive tactics, an comprehensive and precise legal process has been groundlessly presented by Mr Sarkozy's supporters as a courtroom scheme and ideological revenge. After the verdict recently, the former president openly condemned his punishment as invalid and condemned the "hostility" with "no restraints" that supposedly drove it. Since prominent officials and backers from the right and far right have filled the airwaves and conservative press with the same talking points, the judicial figure has been subjected to multiple threats.

Public Response

Encouragingly, the public seems unconvinced. A post-verdict poll found significant majorities backing both the conduct of Mr Sarkozy's trial and his conviction. Yet the drama, and the blatant effort to damage the credibility of the legal system, was most probably merely a dress rehearsal. In January, Marine Le Pen's court petition against a guilty verdict for embezzlement of political funds will occur. If unsuccessful, the political candidate will be excluded from running in the upcoming election.

Long-term Effects

Across a fragmented and doubtful society, that will be a risky period for the country's courts to handle. The former president could still be freed prior to his appeal hearing, after an application by his legal team. Yet the unfounded and damaging assaults on the judicial framework at all stages of his trial have set a damaging precedent.