After corruption verdict, Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to wear an electronic tag | Nicolas Sarkozy

France’s highest appeals court has upheld a verdict against former President Nicolas Sarkozy on corruption and influence peddling charges and ordered him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former head of state.

Sarkozy, who was previously found guilty of illegal attempts to obtain favors from a judge, will “obviously” respect the terms of the sentence after the Court of Cassation’s ruling, but will refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights for appeal, according to the lawyer told Agence France-Presse.

Sarkozy had appealed his 2021 conviction, for which he was given a three-year prison sentence. Two of the years were suspended and Sarkozy would wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for the final year rather than go to prison.

Patrice Spinosi, Sarkozy’s lawyer, said he would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the ruling.

Spinosi added that Sarkozy would abide by the verdict but would continue to use all legal means at his disposal to prove his innocence.

Sarkozy, a conservative who remains a major figure in French politics after leaving office in 2012, was found guilty by a lower court of attempting to bribe a judge and gaining influence in exchange for confidential information about to leak an investigation into his campaign finances in 2007.

The court found that Sarkozy conspired to secure a job in Monaco for a judge in exchange for inside information about an investigation into allegations that Sarkozy accepted illegal payments from L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

Judge Gilbert Azibert was also convicted of corruption and influence peddling.

Sarkozy is expected to go on trial next year on corruption and illegal financing charges related to alleged Libyan financing of his successful 2007 presidential bid. Sarkozy denies any wrongdoing. If convicted in the Libya case, Sarkozy could face up to ten years in prison.

Sarkozy’s predecessor Jacques Chirac, a conservative, is the only other president in modern French history to be convicted by a court. Chirac was found guilty of corruption in 2011, four years after he left office.

AFP and Reuters contributed to this report