Sarkozy rules out French presidential run after conviction

PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he won’t run for president next year, a day after a court found him guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to a year in prison. He appealed the decision. In an interview Tuesday with French newspaper Le Figaro, Sarkozy denounced Monday’s verdict as “a deep injustice.” The 66-year-old, who was president from 2007 to 2012, was convicted of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. The Paris court found that Sarkozy and his two codefendants sealed a “pact of corruption,” citing “consistent and serious evidence”.