French society is no longer prepared to tolerate a culture of impunity at the top of politics
In all likelihood, next year’s presidential election in France will come down – as the last one did – to a contest between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the leader of Rassemblement National. This confrontation between Mr Macron’s liberal centrism and the far-right nationalism of Ms Le Pen is the current default setting of French politics. The traditional struggle between French socialists and conservatives for occupancy of the Elysée has, for now, been consigned to the past.
Perhaps at least part of the explanation for that can be found in the proceedings of France’s criminal justice system. Nicolas Sarkozy will appeal against Monday’s humiliating verdict by a Paris court, which found him guilty of corruption and influence peddling. But if the judgment – and an unprecedented prison sentence – is upheld, the former conservative president will join the centre-right’s presidential candidate of 2017, François Fillon, in a lengthening roll of dishonour. Three years ago, Mr Fillon was leading in the presidential polls, until it was revealed that about €1m from the public purse had been illegally paid to his wife and members of his family. The fortunes of his party have yet to fully recover.
