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French justice upholds Nicolas Sarkozy's conviction for corruption and influence peddling

Updated

He is the first French president to be sentenced to actual prison time, which will be three years behind bars

Nicolas Sarkozy, in an image from 2023.
Nicolas Sarkozy, in an image from 2023.AP

The Court of Cassation of France has upheld the three-year prison sentence imposed on former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2021 for corruption and influence peddling in the so-called phone tapping case, one of the three corruption cases he is facing.

The French leader, who served as President from 2007 to 2012, appealed the decision in 2021, this time to the Court of Cassation, the equivalent of the Supreme Court. The sentence requires him to wear an electronic bracelet, but he is not required to go to prison. He will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

He is the first president to be sentenced to actual prison time, as his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was convicted of embezzlement, but only received a two-year suspended sentence. This was related to fictitious jobs in Paris when he was the mayor of the city.