Nicolas Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour

France's former president loses highest distinction over corruption conviction.

Graphic Artist: Busra Ozturk, Producer: Nurdan Erdogan Gokhan / TRT World

What happened so far?

  • France’s top court upheld his conviction for influence peddling, corruption
  • Found guilty of trying to bribe a judge for confidential info on his 2007 campaign
  • Already convicted for illegal financing during his failed 2012 bid; now on trial for allegedly taking funds from Libya’s Gaddafi
  • Only one other French president has lost the Legion of Honour: Nazi collaborator Philippe Petain, in 1945
  • Others stripped of the honour include Bashar al Assad, Lance Armstrong and Harvey Weinstein