Jail term for Sarkozy

A PARIS court has sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in an alleged scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

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The historic ruling made Sarkozy the first former president of modern France sentenced to actual time behind bars. In a major surprise, the court ruled that the 70-year-old will be incarcerated despite his intention to appeal.

It said the date of his imprisonment would be decided later, sparing the conservative leader the humiliation of being led from the packed courtroom in handcuffs.

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favours. It cleared him of three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds.

Sarkozy denounced the ruling.