The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, on Wednesday upheld an appeal court’s decision to find ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of illegal campaign financing during his 2012 reelection bid, along with his campaign manager and two aides from his political party. The appeals court sentenced Sarkozy to a year of imprisonment with a six-month suspended sentence.

On the same set of facts before the appeal court, the Court of Cassation found that Sarkozy had violated Article L113-1 of the electoral code. This article states that illegal campaign financing has occurred when a candidate “knows that they have exceeded the spending limit authorized by law.”

The Court of Cassation also rejected the defendants’ three grounds for appeal. The decision was first appealed on the basis tha

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