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Join Telegram ChannelA fine and mischievous teacher, the director of New Watchdogs deciphers the ins and outs of the “Sarkozy-Gaddafi” affair, the trial of which begins today.
Sometimes it is better to turn your tongue in your mouth seven times before speaking because some people risk taking you at your word. The proof with this documentary by Yannick Kergoat which takes up the so-called Libyan financing affair – the trial of which opens today – starting from a sentence from one of the main accused – and presumed innocent to this day – former President Nicolas Sarkozy. A bold sentence from an interview given to Figaro Magazine in 2023 aimed at putting out the fire but, through his arrogance, only added fuel to the fire: “ the French are hard-pressed to summarize what I am accused of. Nobody understands anything “.
Chiche therefore responds here to Yannick Kergoat who has already proven with The New Watchdogs And The (Very) Great Escape his ease in the field of political documentary and his ability to be both extremely educational and delightfully mischievous. Based on the investigation carried out by Mediapart since 2011 and the receipt of a mysterious email from Ziad Takieddine – an intermediary who will continue to change versions of the facts over the years -, Kergoat therefore goes back in time and gives see the different pieces of the puzzle: from the Karachi affair when Edouard Balladur was Prime Minister and presidential candidate to the twists and turns in the turbulent relationship between Nicolas Sarkozy and Muammar Gaddafi.
From the reception with great fanfare of the latter in December 2007 (where the Libyan dictator set up his tent for several days in the grounds of the Hotel Marigny!) to the moment when the French President released him in the wake of the Arab Spring, participant of made to his fall. All this against the backdrop of an increase in supposedly illegal financial flows and permanent returns of the favor then settling of scores between the two camps that had become enemies, where all moves suddenly seemed permitted. For that, Nobody understands anything brings together archive images, telephone exchanges between Sarkozy and Gaddafi that Mediapart managed to obtain and testimonies from people close to and knowledgeable about the case detailing the multiple characters involved in this affair over the years: Claude Guéant, the Secretary General of the Elysée, several Sarkozy ministers, members of the RG…
Kergoat succeeds in his challenge of making this apparent complex entanglement completely clear with this slightly ironic tone which will inevitably enrage the body and soul of Nicolas Sarkozy's defenders. We also regret that they – to whom the request was made – did not wish to give their version of the facts. Whereas – and this is the other limitation of the film – Fabrice Arfi of Mediapart (author of the investigation with his colleague Karl Laske) pushes himself, on the contrary, a little too hard. When we know the stormy relations between Nicolas Sarkozy and Mediapart (co-producer of Nobody understands anything), this attitude could tend to lead the documentary towards a pure settling of scores or a trial of anti-Sarkozy charges, which it defends from the first minutes. But fortunately Kergoat's work and the astonishment we feel at the ramifications of what could be one of the greatest scandals of the Fifth Republic prevent him from doing so. It is now up to Justice to express itself and decide.
By Yannick Kergoat. Duration 1h44. Released January 8, 2025