ANTANANRIVO: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said he opposed stripping former head of state Nicolas Sarkozy of France’s top honor despite the definitive conviction of the right-winger last year on charges of influence-peddling and corruption.
Sarkozy, in an unprecedented punishment for a former head of state, is now wearing an electronic ankle tag after France’s Court of Cassation in December upheld a verdict for him to serve a one-year term outside of prison with the GPS device.
The combative ex-president ruled France from 2007-2012 but failed to win a second mandate in a devastating election defeat to Socialist Francois Hollande and then became embroiled in a string of legal problems.
There had been speculation Sarkozy could lose his Legion of Honour award but Macron, who as head of state is the grand master of the decoration and would have a final say, said he respected Sarkozy and would oppose such a move.
“I think it is very important that former presidents are respected,” he said on the sidelines of a trip to Madagascar, adding he believed “it would not be a good decision” to strip Sarkozy of the award.
“The fact that he was elected president by the sovereign people means he deserves respect. He has my respect. I think he has the respect of the French people,” said Macron.
General Francois Lecointre, France’s former military chief of staff who now serves as the grand chancellor of the Legion of Honour, said last month that such a removal of the award was foreseen under the rules of the order, which was established early in the 19th century by Napoleon Bonaparte.
According to the code of the Legion of Honour, any person definitively sentenced to a prison sentence equal to or greater than one year in prison is “excluded by right” from the order, Lecointre noted.
If Sarkozy is stripped of the award, he would no longer be able to wear it on pain of prosecution.
But while acknowledging that the order has its “rules,” Macron said: “If I have the freedom of maneuver I prefer that a former president retains his place in the order that he belongs to. It’s something to have been president of France.”
Macron himself must step down in 2027 after serving the maximum two terms.
Sarkozy is using his last remaining legal avenue, an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, to defend himself against the conviction.
He is currently on trial in a separate case on charges of accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
The court is to give a verdict in September with prosecutors asking for a seven-year prison term for Sarkozy, who denies the charges.
Despite his legal problems, Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the right and is known to regularly meet with Macron.
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France’s Macron opposes stripping Sarkozy of top honor
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France’s Macron opposes stripping Sarkozy of top honor
- “I think it is very important that former presidents are respected,” Macron said
- “The fact that he was elected president by the sovereign people means he deserves respect”
Arrivederci Milan Cortina. Italian organizers contemplating Rome bid for 2040 Summer Olympics
- The entire idea of the Milan Cortina Games was born out of the rejection of Rome’s bid for the 2024 Olympics by then-Mayor Virginia Raggi a decade ago
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: Goodbye Milan Cortina. See you in Rome in 2040?
Now that the just-concluded Winter Olympics have been hailed for setting “a new, very high standard” by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, Italian organizers are contemplating a bid for the 2040 Summer Games.
“I think our country deserves another Summer Olympics,” Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Luciano Buonfiglio said over the weekend. “But let’s take it step by step. A candidacy has to be agreed on and shared with the government.”
The idea of the Milan Cortina Games was born out of the rejection of Rome’s bid for the 2024 Olympics by then-Mayor Virginia Raggi a decade ago. That came four years after then-Premier Mario Monti scrapped the city’s candidacy for the 2020 Games because of financial concerns; and after a Rome bid was narrowly defeated by Athens in the final round of voting for 2004.
“Scars help you remember” the defeats, said Giovanni Malagò, the head of the Milan Cortina organizing committee and former CONI president.
But Malagò, who is also an IOC member, suggested that Rome has a couple of key advantages in Olympic circles: its “unique” history of failed bids and the centerpiece venue for any Summer candidacy.
“Rome has a 70,000-seat stadium with an athletics track — which is huge in terms of sustainability,” Malagò said.
The existing Stadio Olimpico and surrounding Foro Italico complex would be a natural setting for athletics and swimming — the two biggest sports at the Summer Games.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said during the Milan Cortina Games that he believes his city has “the conditions” for another bid — especially after welcoming more than 33 million people to the capital and Vatican for the 2025 Holy Year.
“If it’s considered a realistic goal, I’m open to collaborating with the IOC, government and CONI in order to create the most competitive bid possible,” Gualtieri said. “A capital like Rome should not be afraid of big challenges. The Jubilee showed off our organizational capacity for big events.”
With the 2028 Games coming up in Los Angeles and 2032 in Brisbane, Australia; and India and Qatar bidding for 2036; the 2040 Summer Games seem destined to return to Europe.
“Now is not the time to discuss this. It’s premature, wrong and even counterproductive,” Malagò said. “We need to understand the geopolitical landscape for post-2032.”
Malagò wouldn’t elaborate on speculation that he will run for Rome mayor after he finishes off his Milan Cortina duties, saying he would discuss “ideas that I have in mind” after next month’s Paralympics.
Andrea Abodi, Italy’s Minister for Sport and Youth, added: “It doesn’t necessarily require an announcement to build a winning bid.”
Now that the just-concluded Winter Olympics have been hailed for setting “a new, very high standard” by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, Italian organizers are contemplating a bid for the 2040 Summer Games.
“I think our country deserves another Summer Olympics,” Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Luciano Buonfiglio said over the weekend. “But let’s take it step by step. A candidacy has to be agreed on and shared with the government.”
The idea of the Milan Cortina Games was born out of the rejection of Rome’s bid for the 2024 Olympics by then-Mayor Virginia Raggi a decade ago. That came four years after then-Premier Mario Monti scrapped the city’s candidacy for the 2020 Games because of financial concerns; and after a Rome bid was narrowly defeated by Athens in the final round of voting for 2004.
“Scars help you remember” the defeats, said Giovanni Malagò, the head of the Milan Cortina organizing committee and former CONI president.
But Malagò, who is also an IOC member, suggested that Rome has a couple of key advantages in Olympic circles: its “unique” history of failed bids and the centerpiece venue for any Summer candidacy.
“Rome has a 70,000-seat stadium with an athletics track — which is huge in terms of sustainability,” Malagò said.
The existing Stadio Olimpico and surrounding Foro Italico complex would be a natural setting for athletics and swimming — the two biggest sports at the Summer Games.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said during the Milan Cortina Games that he believes his city has “the conditions” for another bid — especially after welcoming more than 33 million people to the capital and Vatican for the 2025 Holy Year.
“If it’s considered a realistic goal, I’m open to collaborating with the IOC, government and CONI in order to create the most competitive bid possible,” Gualtieri said. “A capital like Rome should not be afraid of big challenges. The Jubilee showed off our organizational capacity for big events.”
With the 2028 Games coming up in Los Angeles and 2032 in Brisbane, Australia; and India and Qatar bidding for 2036; the 2040 Summer Games seem destined to return to Europe.
“Now is not the time to discuss this. It’s premature, wrong and even counterproductive,” Malagò said. “We need to understand the geopolitical landscape for post-2032.”
Malagò wouldn’t elaborate on speculation that he will run for Rome mayor after he finishes off his Milan Cortina duties, saying he would discuss “ideas that I have in mind” after next month’s Paralympics.
Andrea Abodi, Italy’s Minister for Sport and Youth, added: “It doesn’t necessarily require an announcement to build a winning bid.”
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