Overview

• A decree published June 15 in the Journal officiel officially strips Nicolas Sarkozy of his rank as grand-croix of the Légion d’honneur and removes him from the Ordre national du Mérite.
• Rules of the Grande chancellerie dictate an automatic exclusion for honorees handed firm prison sentences exceeding one year, a provision affirmed by Grand chancellor François Lecointre.
• With this removal, Sarkozy becomes the second French head of state to lose the Légion d’honneur after Marshal Pétain.
• Rassemblement National president Jordan Bardella denounced the decision as humiliating and President Emmanuel Macron had previously voiced reservations about such a measure.
• Sarkozy has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights and remains under investigation in the alleged Libyan financing case, with a verdict due in September 2025.