This is a great first. Never has a former head of state been forced by justice to testify in a case in which he is cited. Nicolas Sarkozy, protected by criminal immunity, cannot be prosecuted in the case of the Elysée polls which cost several million euros between 2007 and 2012, but the judges decided that his testimony was essential for “the manifestation of the truth”, Tuesday November 2. The former President of the Republic pwill he argue or oppose silence to questions from the court? Follow our live.
Several defendants, including part of Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet. Many relatives of the tenant of the Elysée between 2007 and 2012 are among the defendants in this case, including the former minister Claude Guéant, the former adviser Patrick Buisson or the Ipsos polling institute.
Did the former president order these polls? Protected by the Constitution, which offers the President of the Republic criminal immunity for the facts that occurred during his mandate, Nicolas Sarkozy was never heard during the investigation. He is, however, a central figure in the affair. It’s certain “instruction” of Nicolas Sarkozy that the contracts were put in place, according to Claude Guéant. “I was told that the Elysée escaped the common law of public management”, testified the former Minister of the Interior during the trial.
Silence or speaking out? Many questions remain around this unprecedented testimony. Nicolas Sarkozy could thus oppose silence to some or all of the questions, in particular by invoking professional secrecy. “Me, I do not respond to provocations (…) You have to be calm, not to be passionate, not to upset things. There is a Constitution, there are laws and you have to respect them, that’s the only thing I ask “, he claimed on October 20 on the sidelines of a signing session in Lyon.