French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, September 28, joined a chorus of condemnation for threats made against the judge who last week convicted and jailed former president Nicolas Sarkozy on conspiracy charges. "Attacks and death threats, old or recent, against several magistrates are unacceptable," Macron wrote on X.
Reports emerged on Friday that Judge Nathalie Gavarino had received death threats and messages threatening her with "serious violence" after she convicted Sarkozy a day earlier.
"The rule of law is the foundation of our democracy," wrote Macron. "The independence of the judiciary, its impartiality, as well as the protection of the magistrates who uphold it, are its essential pillars.
Macron added that he was calling on the justice and interior ministers in the incoming government to prosecute those responsible as soon as they had been identified. "Decisions of the courts can be commented on or criticised in public, but always in a spirit of mutual respect," he said.
Earlier, the USM magistrates' union had denounced the "deafening" silence of Macron, arguing that under the terms of Article 64 of the constitution, the president was meant to be the guarantee of the independence of the judiciary.
The outgoing justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, condemned the threats against the judge in a statement on Saturday. Paris prosecutors on Friday opened two investigations into the threats made against Gavarino.
On Thursday, she sentenced Sarkozy to five years in prison, meaning he will be the first French post-war leader to serve jail time, even as he waits for his appeal to play out. Sarkozy's conviction over a scheme enabling late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to fund his 2007 presidential run has angered many on the right. Sarkozy himself condemned the verdict as "extremely serious for the rule of law" in comments to reporters outside the courtroom.