Marrakech – France’s highest appeals court has upheld a corruption and influence-peddling conviction against former President Nicolas Sarkozy, marking a historic first for a former head of state.
The Court of Cassation confirmed that Sarkozy must wear an electronic tag for one year, a decision linked to his illegal attempts to secure favors from a judge.
The ruling, which follows Sarkozy’s 2021 conviction and a three-year prison sentence, reduces his sentence by suspending two years.
Instead of serving time behind bars, Sarkozy will spend the last year of his sentence wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, confirmed that the former president would respect the verdict’s terms but plans to challenge the decision at the European Court of Human Rights.
Spinosi stated that Sarkozy would adhere to the ruling but would continue to exhaust all legal avenues to prove his innocence.
Sarkozy, a prominent conservative figure in French politics since leaving office in 2012, was found guilty by a lower court of attempting to bribe a judge and engaging in influence peddling to obtain confidential information about an investigation into his 2007 campaign finances.
The court ruled that Sarkozy conspired to secure a position in Monaco for judge Gilbert Azibert in exchange for inside information on a probe into allegations that the former head of state had accepted illegal payments from L’Oréal heir Liliane Bettencourt.
Azibert was also convicted of corruption and influence peddling.
Sarkozy is set to face trial next year on charges of corruption and illegal financing, related to claims that his 2007 presidential campaign was funded by Libyan sources.
He denies all accusations, and if convicted, could face up to 10 years in prison.
Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, is the only other modern French president to be convicted; he was found guilty of corruption in 2011, four years after leaving office.
