Shamed former French leader Jacques Chirac was found guilty of corruption and given a suspended jail sentence yesterday, becoming France’s first ex-president to be convicted for his crimes.
The 79-year-old statesman, who was excused from court on medical grounds, was found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust and embezzlement between 1990 and 1995, when as mayor of Paris he employed ghost workers.
In their ruling, judges said Chirac’s criminal conduct had cost Paris taxpayers the equivalent of €1.4 million.“Jacques Chirac breached the duty of trust that weighs on public officials charged with caring for public funds or property, in contempt of the general interest of Parisians,” the ruling said.
He is the first former or serving president of modern France to be tried, although Nazi-era collaborationist leader Philippe Petain was convicted of treason and king Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine by revolutionaries in 1793.
Mr Chirac’s lawyer Jean Veil said the former leader had received the judgement “with serenity” and added: “He’s satisfied that at least the court has accepted that he did not personally profit from this.”
The verdict marked the end of a long legal drama. France’s current foreign minister, Alain Juppe, was convicted in the same case in 2004 but has since returned to public life and is an ally of Chirac’s successor Nicolas Sarkozy.
Thursday’s sentence was a surprise. Even state prosecutors had called for Mr Chirac – who still polls as one of France’s most popular figures – to be cleared, and France has largely forgiven his long history of corruption.
“I hope this judgement won’t change the profound affection that the French people still rightly have for Jacques Chirac,” defence counsel Georges Kiejman said, adding that Mr Chirac would decide later in the day whether to appeal.
Mr Chirac’s 54-year-old Vietnamese-born adopted daughter Anh Dao Traxel said the ruling had been “too, too harsh”.
“Justice has spoken, it must be respected but it’s unfortunately a great pain for our family and for Jacques Chirac,” she told reporters.
The opposition Socialist Party’s candidate for next year’s presidential race, Francois Hollande, said “justice has been done” but added that he “had a thought for a man who has more health problems”.
Members of Chirac’s right-wing UMP party expressed regret.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the case had taken too long to resolve, with the ruling falling two decades after the crimes.
“I don’t think this decision will alter the personal relationship that exists between Jacques Chirac and the French people,” he said.
Mr Chirac was president of France between 1995 and 2007 and enjoyed legal immunity while in office.