A French court has given former President Jacques Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence for diverting public funds and abusing public trust.
Mr Chirac, 79, was not in court to hear the verdict because of ill-health but denied wrongdoing.
President from 1995 to 2007, he was put on trial on charges that dated back to his time as mayor of Paris.
He was accused of paying members of his Rally for the Republic (RPR) party for municipal jobs that did not exist.
The prosecution had urged the judge to acquit Mr Chirac and nine others accused in the trial. Two of the nine were cleared. The other seven were found guilty and all but one handed suspended prison sentences.
Jean de Gaulle, grandson of former President Charles de Gaulle, was handed a three-month suspended term while former union leader Marc Blondel, 73, was convicted but escaped a sentence.
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