<p>Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty and sentenced to jail by a court in Paris on Monday on charges of corruption and influence peddling, only the second time in modern French history that a former president has been convicted of a crime.</p>.<p>The conviction was the culmination of just one of several long-running legal entanglements that are coming to a head for the politician who led France from 2007 to 2012.</p>.<p>Sarkozy, 66, is likely to appeal, and while the conviction could undermine his stature in French politics, he still holds considerable sway among French conservatives.</p>.<p>Sarkozy was found guilty of trying to illegally obtain information on another case against him from a judge in return for promises to use his influence to secure a prestigious job for the judge.</p>.<p>The presiding judge in Monday’s case, Christine Mée, told the court that Sarkozy had “used his status as a former president to reward a magistrate who served his personal interest” and that he was “perfectly informed” of the illegality of his actions, according to French news reports.</p>.<p>Sarkozy, who had always denied any wrongdoing, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, as did his lawyers.</p>.<p>While the court handed down a three-year prison sentence, two of those years were suspended. If Sarkozy commits a new crime within a given time frame, a court could then order the sentence to be served in full.</p>.<p>Sarkozy can request that his one-year term be served outside prison, for instance at home with an electronic bracelet. An appeal, which is widely expected, would place the entire sentence on hold.</p>.<p>The conviction does not bar Sarkozy from running for office, although he has not publicly expressed any such desire.</p>.<p>Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing in a complex web of financial impropriety cases that has plagued him since he left office.</p>.<p>He is scheduled to stand trial later this month in a separate case involving his 2012 campaign, in which he has been charged with exceeding strict limits on campaign spending. The longest-running and most serious case against him involves accusations that his 2007 campaign received illegal Libyan financing from the government of the now-dead strongman Moammar Gadhafi.</p>.<p>Other cases against Sarkozy have been dropped, including one in which he was accused of manipulating the heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics fortune into financing his 2007 campaign.</p>
<p>Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty and sentenced to jail by a court in Paris on Monday on charges of corruption and influence peddling, only the second time in modern French history that a former president has been convicted of a crime.</p>.<p>The conviction was the culmination of just one of several long-running legal entanglements that are coming to a head for the politician who led France from 2007 to 2012.</p>.<p>Sarkozy, 66, is likely to appeal, and while the conviction could undermine his stature in French politics, he still holds considerable sway among French conservatives.</p>.<p>Sarkozy was found guilty of trying to illegally obtain information on another case against him from a judge in return for promises to use his influence to secure a prestigious job for the judge.</p>.<p>The presiding judge in Monday’s case, Christine Mée, told the court that Sarkozy had “used his status as a former president to reward a magistrate who served his personal interest” and that he was “perfectly informed” of the illegality of his actions, according to French news reports.</p>.<p>Sarkozy, who had always denied any wrongdoing, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, as did his lawyers.</p>.<p>While the court handed down a three-year prison sentence, two of those years were suspended. If Sarkozy commits a new crime within a given time frame, a court could then order the sentence to be served in full.</p>.<p>Sarkozy can request that his one-year term be served outside prison, for instance at home with an electronic bracelet. An appeal, which is widely expected, would place the entire sentence on hold.</p>.<p>The conviction does not bar Sarkozy from running for office, although he has not publicly expressed any such desire.</p>.<p>Sarkozy has denied wrongdoing in a complex web of financial impropriety cases that has plagued him since he left office.</p>.<p>He is scheduled to stand trial later this month in a separate case involving his 2012 campaign, in which he has been charged with exceeding strict limits on campaign spending. The longest-running and most serious case against him involves accusations that his 2007 campaign received illegal Libyan financing from the government of the now-dead strongman Moammar Gadhafi.</p>.<p>Other cases against Sarkozy have been dropped, including one in which he was accused of manipulating the heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics fortune into financing his 2007 campaign.</p>