French ex-president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honor medal over corruption scandal

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy attends a meeting in Asnieres, outside Paris, March 24 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

PARIS — France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honor medal after being convicted last year of corruption and influence peddling while he was the country’s head of state, it was announced on Sunday.

The decision was made via a decree released in the Journal Officiel that publishes the government’s major legal information. It comes in line with the rules of the Legion of Honor.

The conservative politician, who was president from 2007 to 2012, has been at the heart of a series of legal cases since leaving office.

He was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling by both a Paris court in 2021 and an appeals court in 2023 for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated.

He was sentenced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for one year, a verdict upheld by France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, in December.

Earlier this year, Sarkozy stood trial over allegations he received millions of dollars from Libya for his successful presidential campaign in 2007. He denies the claims. Prosecutors requested a seven-year prison sentence. The verdict is expected in September.

Sarkozy becomes the second former head of state to be stripped of the Legion of Honor — France’s highest distinction — after Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain, who was convicted in 1945 for treason and conspiring with the enemy for his actions as leader of Vichy France from 1940-1944.

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was stripped of his Legion of Honor award in the wake of widespread sexual misconduct allegations against him in 2017. Disgraced cyclist and former Tour de France star Lance Armstrong also had his French Legion of Honor award revoked.

Sarkozy retired from public life in 2017 though still plays an influential role in French conservative politics.

Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press