Former French President Sarkozy loses appeal on corruption conviction; prison sentence upheld

PARIS– A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a one-year prison sentence against former President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence-peddling.

His lawyer said he would take the case to France’s highest court and insisted that Sarkozy was innocent. The 68-year-old ex-president would not be required to serve time pending a final sentencing, and if convicted, he could apply to serve his sentence at home.

Sarkozy, 68, was convicted in 2021 of attempting to bribe a judge in exchange for information about a legal case he was involved in. It was the first time in modern French history that a former president was convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison.

Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and is appealing the original verdict. According to a court official, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence on Wednesday.

His attorney, Jacqueline Laffont, called the decision “staggering” and “unfair.”

Sarkozy has the right to demand that he be held at home with an electronic bracelet, which is common with sentences of two years or less. He also received a two-year suspended sentence, which he will not have to serve if he does not commit a new offense in the next five years.

It is one of several legal cases Sarkoky has faced. Later in 2021, he was convicted of illegal campaign finance for his unsuccessful re-election in 2012. Last week, prosecutors asked that he be brought to justice for illegally receiving millions of dollars from the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 election campaign.