Reuters, Paris :In accusing magistrates of persecuting him, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is taking on an old enemy in a fight that could hurt both politicians and judges, fuelling a sense of public disenchantment with France’s ruling elite.Sarkozy’s hopes of winning back power suffered a heavy blow when, after 15 hours in police custody, he was placed under formal investigation on July 2, suspected of using his influence to gain details of a probe into his 2007 election campaign.Now targeted directly or indirectly in six investigations, he has fought back with accusations that the magistrates leading the current case are pursuing a political vendetta against him.It is a risky strategy, given that most French appear to be satisfied with the legal system and polls show two-thirds believe the conservative ex-president has been treated like any other accused.Already the far-right National Front, which topped the polls in France at May’s elections to the European Parliament, is seeking to capitalize on the Sarkozy affair as further evidence of something rotten at the heart of the political establishment.Its leader Marine Le Pen has described Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party and President Francois Hollande’s ruling Socialists as “all corrupt.”
