New York Times News Service
Published 01.10.21, 01:25 AM
A French court on Thursday sentenced Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President, to a year in jail for illegally financing his failed 2012 re-election campaign by wildly exceeding France’s strict electoral spending limits.
Sarkozy, 66, was President from 2007 to 2012. Though he is no longer active in politics and continues to be dogged by multiple legal entanglements, he is still an influential voice on the French Right. He has not yet said whether he would appeal the conviction.
It is the second time that Sarkozy has been sentenced to prison. In March, he became the first former President in France’s recent history to be sentenced to actual jail time after he was convicted on charges of corruption and influence peddling.