Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to face a second trial

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will appear in court today over allegations that he illegally financed his 2012 presidential re-election campaign.

Earlier this month, a French court sentenced Sarkozy to a year in prison for fraud. Facing the possibility of house arrest, Sarkozy will soon appeal the decision. Today, Sarkozy has to attend yet another judicial hearing. This time he is accused of receiving unlawful funds during the 2012 French presidential elections, which he lost to Francois Hollande. These developments have worsened already deteriorating domestic trust in French politics.

Sarkozy’s centre-right political party, the Republicans, will almost certainly see a decrease in popularity wrought by the nationwide scandal. In next year’s presidential elections, support will likely prevail in favour of centrist “La Republique En Marche!” founder and incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron, although far-right challenger Marine le Pen continues to rally momentum for her anti-immigrant National Rally party. In the medium to long-term, expect the courts to continue investigating the corruption scandal in search of additional links to Sarkozy’s fraudulent misconducts.

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