A French court has sentenced former President Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison for spending more than his campaign limit.
According to Al Jazeera, the former president had spent twice as much money illegally on campaigning for the 2012 elections. However, they were defeated.
Delivering the verdict, the judge said it was clear that Sarkozy was well aware that his team was spending more than the legal limit. The judge added that the former president could also serve his sentence at home with an electronic ring, but the 66-year-old president's lawyers told the media outside the courtroom that they would appeal the decision.
Sarkozy, who served as French president from 2007 to 2012, lost the 2012 re-election to Socialist Party's Francois Hollande and was accused of campaigning for the 22-and-a-half-hour campaign. Twice as much as a million euros (26 million).
He allegedly squandered funds on election rallies and on the services of the public relations agency Bygmalion. He was also sentenced in March this year to three years in prison on bribery charges. Was later removed.
