After nearly 10 years of legal battles that initially led to an acquittal, a former French government minister faces at least three years in prison after a court found him guilty of raping two employees during “foot massages” in his office. The conviction of Georges Tron, 63, comes as France is confronting a wave of sexual assault allegations that has pushed the government to promise tougher laws to protect victims and punish assailants. Tron remained silent when the verdict was announced late Wednesday by a Paris appeals court after 11 hours of jury deliberation, and handed his watch to his lawyer before police took him directly to prison to serve a five-year sentence, with two years suspended. Tron was a cabinet minister under prime minister Francois Fillon when he was forced to resign in 2011 over allegations made by two women who worked for him while he was mayor of Draveil, outside Paris. The women said that between 2007 and 2010, Tron, known for practicing reflexology as a hobby, imposed foot massage sessions that would involve groping and digital penetration, at times turning into threesomes with his deputy Brigitte Gruel. Virginie Ettel and Eva Loubrieu testified that...