Source: NYTimes
PARIS — Former French President Jacques Chirac, 79, was convicted on Thursday of embezzlement and misuse of public funds to illegally finance his political party using fake jobs when he was mayor of Paris.
Mr. Chirac, who was not present at the trial because of reported health and memory problems, received a two-year suspended sentence from the judges.
While beloved by many as a grandfather figure, Mr. Chirac’s reputation will inevitably be stained. He is the first former French head of state to be prosecuted, let alone convicted, since Marshal Philippe Pétain, who collaborated with the Nazis, was convicted of treason in 1945.
At least justice prevails in the country irrespective of high profiled culprits.