Mr. Sarkozy, 66, who served as president of France from 2007 to 2012, was indicted seeking to obtain information about a case involving him, from a judge in 2014.
The court also said that Mr. Sarkozy has the right to seek house arrest, to wear an electronic bracelet to control his movements, instead of going to jail.
This is the first time in modern French history that a former president has been found guilty of corruption.
Mr. Sarkozy’s accomplices, including his lawyer and longtime friend Thierry Herzog, 65, and former Chief Justice Gilbert Azibert, 74, were both convicted and sentenced.
The court said that based on the clear evidence, Mr. Sarkozy and his accomplices agreed to be corrupt.
Mr. Sarkozy completely denied the allegations in a 10-day trial at the end of last year.
The trial of this corruption case targeted telephone conversations between defendants in February 2014.
These recorded conversations led prosecutors to suspect that Mr. Sarkozy and Herzog promised Azibert a major post in Monaco, in exchange for providing information on another case, refers to the richest woman in France, who is also the heir to L’Oreal, Mrs. Liliane Bettencourt.
Ms. Liliane Bettencourt once claimed that she secretly gave Sarkozy money during his campaign in 2007.
Mr. Sarkozy can still be prosecuted for the allegation that he received several million dollars from the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.