France's former leader Nicolas Sarkozy today begins his appeal against a corruption conviction, reports Euronews.
Last year, a court found Sarkozy -- who served as France's president from 2007 to 2012 -- guilty of trying to bribe a judge and influence peddling during his time in office.
"Influence peddling", also called "traffic of influence" or "trading in influence", is the practice of using one's influence in government or any position of authority to obtain preferential treatment for another, usually in return for a payment.
The trial referred back to Sarkozy's and his lawyer's alleged attempts to bribe a judge with a job offer in exchange for confidential information on a legal case in which the 67-year-old former president was implicated.
The case, which was looking into alleged illegal payments from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt to fund Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign, was later dropped.
Read more of this report from Euronews.
See Mediapart's story on the original conviction here.