Sarkozy convicted in campaign financing case

French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to a year of house arrest Thursday for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid. 

The court will allow him to serve the sentence at home by wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, had denied wrongdoing during the trial in May and June. 

He was accused of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 27.5 million USD on the reelection bid. He can appeal the decision, which would suspend the sentence.