Former president Nicolas Sarkozy was at the pinnacle of French politics for just five years, but left a long and lurid trail of corruption allegations behind him.
Eight years after retiring from politics, the man known as the “hyper-president” remains influential, a trusted adviser to Emmanuel Macron, who turned to the fiery right-winger when his centrist liberalism wilted under attack from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party. “The right haven’t found anyone to replace him,” was how one insider put it.
