Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy.

Acquitted of the corruption allegations, the Correctional Tribunal of Paris found Sarkozy guilty of a criminal association with an organized scheme to illegally finance his 2007 presidential election campaign. The decision has sparked various reactions in France concerning the severity of the penalty and the former President’s actual involvement in the scheme.

Sarkozy, president between 2007 and 2012, commented on the decision, considering it a matter of “extreme gravity for the rule of law in the country.” The former President then went on to state that he was found guilty of an “idea” put forward by two of his collaborators, and that no personal enrichment could be found

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