 The six were protesting at what they perceived as abandonment by French authorities.French president Nicolas Sarkozy successfully negotiated the dropping of charges and release of the journalists and flight crew members prior to trial.Six members of the group were convicted on 26 December 2007 and sentenced to eight years of forced labor, although they, ultimately, were instead incarcerated for five months in France, which has no forced labor in its penal system, under an accord between Chad and France.