France's highest appeals court on Wednesday confirmed a verdict against former president Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former head of state.

Sarkozy, who had earlier been found guilty of illegal attempts to secure favors from a judge, will "evidently" respect the terms of the conviction after the Court of Cassation's verdict, but will now take the case to the European Court of Human Rights for appeal, his lawyer told AFP.