Disgraced Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to clear his name and take his fight all the way to the European Supreme Court of Human Rights.
The former French president said his conviction for trying to bribe a judge was deeply unjust and that the case against him was riddled with inconsistencies.
"I can't accept being convicted for something I didn't do," he said.
Sarkozy, 66, was convicted on Monday of forming a "corruption pact" with his former lawyer and friend Thierry Herzog.
The crime was "particularly serious having been committed by a former president who was the guarantor of the independence of the judiciary", the judge said.
On Wednesday, in an interview with Le Figaro, an unrepentant Sarkozy hit back.
"I appealed the decision, maybe I will have to pursue this fight all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.
"That would be painful for me to have to get my own country condemned, but I'm ready to do so because that would be the price of democracy."
He is scheduled to be interviewed on TF1 TV news on Wednesday evening.
Sarkozy, who was sentenced to three years in jail, is not expected to spend time behind bars.
Two years were suspended and the remaining year would be served at home with an electronic bracelet.
The judgment was "riddled with inconsistencies", Sarkozy said.
"It doesn't provide any proof, but just a bunch of circumstantial evidence."
The conviction, which Sarkozy suggested stemmed from the political bias of investigating judges, seems to have ended any hopes of his political revival.
"I've said that I won't be a candidate and I stand by that," he said.
Sarkozy has three other legal cases pending.
On March 17, he is scheduled to face a second trial over accusations of fraudulently overspending in his failed 2012 re-election bid.
He is charged over allegations he received millions of euros from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi for his 2007 election campaign.
And in January, prosecutors opened a probe into alleged influence peddling by Sarkozy, over his advisory activities in Russia.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
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Director: Zoya Akhtar
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Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
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Sector: Entertainment
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