French court upholds Sarkozy's corruption conviction, orders electronic tagging in a first for former head of state

France’s highest appeals court has upheld a conviction against former President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, in a first for a former head of state.

Sarkozy, previously found guilty of trying to secure favours from a judge, will “evidently” comply with the court’s decision, AFP quoted his lawyer as saying.

However, Sarkozy intends to challenge the ruling by appealing to the European Court of Human Rights, added the report.

The conviction, stemming from a 2021 case, originally sentenced Sarkozy to three years in prison, with two years suspended. Instead of serving the full sentence, he was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for the remaining year.

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His lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, confirmed the plan to appeal to the European Court.

“The challenge that I will be bringing to the European Court of Human Rights may, alas, lead to a condemnation against France,” wrote Sarkozy on social media network X.

“I want to once again state that I am clearly innocent,” he added.

Spinosi said while Sarkozy would comply with the ruling, he would continue to pursue all legal avenues to prove his innocence.

Sarkozy, a conservative still influential 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 in exchange for confidential details about an investigation into his 2007 campaign finances.

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The court determined that Sarkozy conspired to secure a job for Judge Gilbert Azibert in Monaco in return for inside information regarding an inquiry into allegations that Sarkozy had received illegal payments from L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

Azibert was also convicted of corruption and influence peddling.

Sarkozy is set to stand trial next year on charges of corruption and illegal campaign financing related to alleged Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential campaign. He denies all allegations. If convicted in the Libya case, Sarkozy could face up to 10 years in prison.

Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, is the only other modern French president to be convicted, having been found guilty of corruption in 2011, four years after leaving office.

With inputs from agencies