A Paris court found former French president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy in a trial in which he was accused of receiving millions of euros in illegal financing from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid.
Sarkozy was, however, acquitted of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.
Sarkozy, who has always denied the charges, 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. At issue is a murky affair alleged 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.
