France’s highest court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of former President Nicolas Sarkozy over illegal election financing after hugely exceeding the country’s strict electoral spending limits for his failed 2012 re-election campaign.

The case began in 2021 after a lower court determined that Mr Sarkozy spent more than $50 million on his 2012 re-election bid, which was almost twice higher than the amount permitted under French law. 

He was subsequently sentenced to one-year imprisonment with six months suspended and the eligibility to serve the term under house arrest.

Displeased with the verdict, Mr Sarkozy filed an appeal to quash the conviction but a French appeal court upheld the decision of the lower court in a ruling in February 2024, prompting the disgraced politician to approach the Court of Cassation.

In its ruling on Wednesday, France’s apex court dismissed Mr Sarkozy’s appeal while upholding the previous decisions of the lower courts. The final verdict left the 70-year-old with no other option than to begin his sentence as he had exhausted all legal options.

It was the latest criminal conviction of Mr Sarkozy after a Paris-based court sentenced him to more than five-year jail in September over allegations that the politician used millions of euros linked to the then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to fund his successful 2007 presidential election campaign. 

He filed an appeal to overturn the verdict and was granted a conditional release until court proceedings were completed after spending 20 days in prison. 

“In prison, there is nothing to see and nothing to do,” Mr Sarkozy wrote in a social media post advertising a yet-to-be published book about his 20 days in jail. “Noise there is, alas, constant. But, like in the desert, inner life grows stronger in prison.”