Former French President Sarkozy has lost a corruption complaint

After leaving office in 2014, Sarkozy was found guilty of trying to bribe a judge, saying he could secure him a prestigious job in exchange for information on a separate case.

In her 2021 ruling, Judge Christine Mée said the conservative politician “knew what he was doing was wrong,” adding that his and his lawyer’s actions gave the public “a very bad image of justice.”

Crimes were defined as influence peddling and violation of professional secrecy.

Speaking after the verdict of the Court of Cassation on Wednesday, Sarkozy’s lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, said that his client will comply with the terms of the sentence.

Sarkozy has now exhausted all legal options in France and his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights will not delay the execution of the sentence.

The 2021 conviction was a legal landmark for post-war France.

The only precedent was the trial of Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac. In 2011, when he was mayor of Paris, he received a two-year suspended sentence for organizing fake jobs for allies in Paris city hall. Chirac died in 2019.