Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted of criminal conspiracy in Paris in a high-profile case, accusing him of allegedly accepting illegal campaign financing from Libya's Gaddafi, but was acquitted of embezzling public funds and corruption.

Axar.az reports, citing Euronews, a Paris court found former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty on Thursday of criminal conspiracy, in a case which has seen him stand trial for allegedly accepting illegal campaign financing from the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to secure his 2007 election victory.

However, the court acquitted Sarkozy on Thursday of embezzling public funds, passive corruption, and exceeding campaign finance limits.

The criminal conspiracy charge relates to his involvement in a group that prepared a corruption offence between 2005 and 2007, the court said.

The court is still detailing its ruling and has not immediately sentenced the 70-year-old Sarkozy, who held France's highest office between 2007 and 2012. Sarkozy can appeal the guilty verdict, which would suspend any sentence pending the appeal.

The Paris court ruling makes Sarkozy, 70, the first former French head of state convicted of such a high-level crime.

Prosecutors had argued he secretly funnelled millions from Gadhafi’s government into his campaign coffers, a claim Sarkozy denied throughout a three-month trial earlier this year.