Nicolas Sarkozy convicted of illegal campaign financing in failed 2012 re-election bid
Former French President was released from prison less two months ago over a separate conviction
Nicolas Sarkozy has been convicted of illegal campaign financing in relation to his failed 2012 re-election bid.
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The 70-year-old was placed under judicial supervision and banned from leaving the French territory earlier this month after just 20 days behind bars in connection with a separate case.
The initial prison sentence was linked to criminal conspiracy and the financing of his 2007 election campaign with funds obtained from Libya.
Sarkozy continues to deny any wrongdoing, lodging an appeal several years ago.
But despite his insistence of innosence, France's highest court rejecting his final appeal on Wednesday.
The French leader, who was France's president between 2007 and 2012, was convicted of hiding illegal overspending in relation to the failed re-election campaign - the case central to the appeal.
In the end, it was discovered that Sarkozy’s campaign spend came to at least €42.8million - nearly double the legal limit, prosecutors said.
A campaign shaped by vast American-style rallies, with events company hired to organise Sarkozy’s filmed stadium gigs in front of thousands of fans.
France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, which focuses on whether the law has been applied correctly, upheld the initial ruling on Wednesday.
The failed appeal means Sarkozy’s conviction is now final.
His earlier conviction, which took place on September 25, saw the disgraced president become the first in living memory to be imprisoned.
Placed under 24-hour guard after entering Paris' most notorious prisons - La Santé - but was later released after just 20 days.
Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was the only other French leader to be locked up, sentenced on treason charges in 1945.
Sarkozy held the position of French president between 2007-2012, with his son, Louis, 28, calling on supporters to make themselves known following the sentence.
Arriving at the prison last month, Sarkozy held hands with wife Carla Bruni as the pair put on a united front for waiting media.
The former leader arrived at the 19th-Century prison in the Montparnasse district, located south of the River Seine, shortly after 08:30 local time flanked by security.
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The accusations trace their roots to 2011, when a Libyan news agency and Gadhafi himself said the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.
Despite multiple legal scandals that have clouded his presidential legacy, Sarkozy remains an influential figure in right-wing politics in France and in entertainment circles by virtue of his marriage to Bruni-Sarkozy.