French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to a year of house arrest Thursday for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid.

The court will allow him to serve the sentence at home by wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, had vigorously denied wrongdoing during the trial in May and June. He can appeal the decision, which would suspend the sentence.