PARIS — France’s top court on Wednesday upheld Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign financing of his 2012 reelection bid, in another blow to the former president's legacy and reputation.

The decision by the Court of Cassation makes definitive Sarkozy’s conviction to a year in prison, half of it suspended, for fraudulently overspending on the failed campaign.

Under French law the sentence can be served at home, monitored with an electronic bracelet or other requirements set by a judge.

The decision comes just two weeks after Sarkozy's release from prison pending an appeal in another campaign financing case. Sarkozy, 70, was incarcerated for 20 days in Paris' La Santé prison, after judges convicted him of scheming to get secret financing from Libya in his winning campaign for

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