Justice in the corridors of power: What the Sarkozy verdict reveals about judicial independence

In a politically charged and deeply polarised France, the sentencing of a revered yet divisive former head of state has become a defining test of institutional independence. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, once the standard-bearer of the Gaullist tradition, now finds himself at the centre of one of the sternest judicial sanctions ever imposed on a French leader. This is not his first encounter with the courts: Sarkozy’s career has long been shadowed by trials and sprawling investigations that probe the boundaries between political power and personal accountability. To help us untangle the legal, moral, and political implications of this moment, we are joined by Dr. Andrew Smith, historian of modern France and Lecturer in Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London. Together, we ask: how did a figure who once set a hardline tone for the Fifth Republic become a symbol of its judicial reckoning?