Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced Wednesday in Paris in the second degree to three years in prison, one without parole, for corruption and undue influence, an unprecedented sentence for a former French president. However, instead of going to prison, he will wear the bracelet for the rest of his term.

The court upheld the sentence to three years in prison. He said that two of those years were suspended and that Sarkozy would wear an electronic bracelet instead of going to jail.

The former lawyer of N. Sarkozy Thierry Herzog and the former high-ranking judge Gilbert Azibert were sentenced to the same sentences.

At the same time, the Court of Appeal deprived N. Sarkozy of his political rights for three years, which bans him from running for office. He also banned T. Erzog from practicing law for three years.

Nicolas Sarkozy appeared in court in a dark gray suit and looked nervous. He patted his lawyers on the back in a friendly manner and smiled occasionally as he sat before the start of the trial.

In 2021, a lower court convicted Mr Sarkozy of attempting to bribe a judge after he left office and negotiating influence in exchange for inside information about a 2007 campaign finance investigation into his campaign.

His conviction marked a stunning downfall for the former president who once conquered the world, and is one of several legal battles the former president has fought over the past decade.

Sarkozy, 68, who served one term as French president from 2007 to 2012, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

His lawyer, Jacqueline Logron, said on Wednesday that the decision is clearly unfair and that “we are at the beginning of the process, we will see it through to the end.”

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.