The head of France’s powerful Magistrates’ Union has sharply criticized former President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing him of “adding fuel to the fire” by attacking the judiciary after his recent conviction. Judith Allenbach, president of the *Syndicat de la magistrature*, told Franceinfo on Sunday, September 28, 2025, that Sarkozy’s claim of a “desire for humiliation” by the justice system, made in an interview with the French weekly *Journal du Dimanche*, fuels dangerous resentment.
“Nicolas Sarkozy is adding fuel to the fire, he is redoubling the violence in his attacks,” Allenbach stated. She vehemently denied any personal vendetta against the former president, asserting, “It is unacceptable because there is no hatred, there is no ‘Nicolas Sarkozy case’ within the judiciary. This man was judged like any other defendant. Magistrates deal with cases; they do not judge based on their emotions, they do not judge a political program, and they do not judge based on ulterior motives or sentiments. They judge according to the law and legal principles.”
The Paris Criminal Court last Thursday sentenced Sarkozy to five years in prison, with immediate incarceration expected, in connection with the long-running probe into alleged Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential campaign. He has since filed an appeal. Since the sentencing, the presiding judge has reportedly received death threats on social media.
Allenbach also addressed questions regarding the presiding judge’s participation in a 2011 demonstration in Nice while Sarkozy was president. The magistrate, then representing a local branch of another magistrates’ union, the USM, had protested against previous statements made by Sarkozy critical of the judiciary.
“One must absolutely never confuse union expression with the act of judging,” Allenbach insisted. “Judges know perfectly well how to differentiate between union expression and their position when judging judicial activity; it has strictly nothing to do with each other, and it is extremely dangerous to suggest there could be a confusion between the two.”
The 2011 protests were triggered after Sarkozy, then head of state, criticized the judiciary’s responsibility following the murder of a young woman, Laëtitia Perrais, in Loire-Atlantique. He suggested a “fault” had been committed by those who allowed the killer, Tony Meilhon, previously convicted of other offenses, to be released without adequate supervision. His remarks led to a strong mobilization of magistrates across France, with many suspending or postponing hearings to denounce what they called a “misrepresentation” by the head of state and the ongoing lack of resources in courts.
