French justice minister's prison visit to Sarkozy sparks legal complaint by lawyers

A visit by France's Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin to former President Nicolas Sarkozy in prison has prompted a legal complaint.

Darmanin went to see Sarkozy in the Santé Prison in Paris on Wednesday evening where he spent 45 minutes speaking to the former head of state.

On Thursday, a group of 30 lawyers lodged a complaint against Darmanin with the Court of Justice (CJR) for "illegal taking of interest," saying that the visit was an implicit show of support for Sarkozy.

The group of lawyers accuse the justice minister of "undermining the trust that citizens have in the justice system...and therefore the trust of the clients on whose behalf they act every day as lawyers."

"Mr Gérald Darmanin's actions are thus damaging their practice and image, making it necessary to lodge this complaint with the Commission des requêtes," the lawyers added.

On Thursday, the union of magistrates (USM) also condemned the visit.

Speaking to the public service broadcaster franceinfo, the union's president, Ludovic Friat, called this "No ordinary visit."

"He (Darmanin) is not going there to ask for a visiting room, he is going there as a minister," arguing that Darmanin has a responsibility to ensure the impartiality and independence of the judiciary.

Sarkozy became the first former French president in living memory to be imprisoned as he began serving a five-year sentence on 21 October after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in an attempt to use Libyan money to finance his 2007 election campaign.

The president of France between 2007 and 2012, Sarkozy will serve his sentence in a prison that has housed some of the most well-known inmates since the 1800s.

In an unprecedented judgment last month, the Paris judge ruled that Sarkozy would start serving prison time without waiting for his appeal to be heard due to "the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offence."

Under the ruling, the former French president can only file a request for release to the appeals court once he is behind bars. Judges will then have up to two months to process the request.

"An innocent man is being locked up," he said en route to La Santé.

Sarkozy mentioned plans to write a new book during his time in prison and has taken three literary companions with him, the maximum allowed by inmates.

He told French outlet Le Figaro he is bringing Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" (in two volumes) and a biography of Jesus Christ.

Darmanin said a day after Sarkozy entered prison that he would be protected by two police officers stationed in neighbouring cells at all times.