Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison, for criminal conspiracy.
Charges have been linked to allegations that he accepted millions in illicit funds from Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, to finance his 2007 presidential campaign.
A Paris court found him guilty and the judge said he would be jailed, regardless of whether he appeals the verdict, which usually suspends sentencing.
Mr Sarkozy, now the first modern French president sentenced to prison, vowed to appeal regardless, telling reporters, “This injustice is a scandal.”
Charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealing the embezzlement of public funds have been dismissed.
