Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption and influence peddling. This marks the first time a former French president has received a jail sentence.

 

The sentence of five years includes three years that are suspended, meaning Sarkozy is expected to serve two years in prison unless the appeals court overturns or modifies the sentence. His legal team immediately announced plans to appeal.

 

68-year-old Sarkozy was found guilty of trying to bribe a judge to obtain confidential information about a separate investigation into his 2007 campaign finances. Prosecutors presented evidence of secret phone exchanges between Sarkozy, his lawyer Thierry Herzog, and Judge Gilbert Azibert