Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be imprisoned after he was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday by a court that found him guilty of criminal conspiracy over dealings with Libya, an unprecedented punishment for a leading French political figure.
The sentence was harsher than many expected, and a first in modern French political history. Sarkozy, who was president between 2007-2012, will spend time in jail even if he appeals the ruling.
As he exited the courtroom, Sarkozy expressed his anger at the ruling. "What happened today ... is of extreme gravity in regard to the rule of law, and for the trust one can have in the justice system," he told reporters.
"If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high," he said, adding that he was innocent and that the ruling was scandalous.
Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over efforts by close aides to procure funds for his 2007 presidential bid from Libya during the rule of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He was acquitted by the Paris court of all other charges, including corruption and receiving illegal campaign financing.
The judge also ordered Sarkozy to pay a €100,000 fine.
The jail sentence is enforceable immediately, with the judge saying Sarkozy would have just a short period to put his affairs in order before prosecutors call on him to head to jail. That should happen within a month.
Sarkozy, was accused of making a deal with Gaddafi in 2005, when he was France's interior minister, to obtain campaign financing in exchange for supporting the then-isolated Libyan government on the international stage.
The 70-year-old has been on trial since January on charges of "concealing the embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime".
Investigators alleged he made a corrupt pact with the Libyan government allegedly to involve Libyan spies, a convicted terrorist, arms dealers and allegations that Gaddafi provided Sarkozy's campaign with millions of euros shipped to Paris in suitcases.
Sarkozy had said the case is politically motivated.
Despite lingering legal headaches, and having his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, stripped in June, Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the French political stage.
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