🔗 Share this article

Maybe France’s most notorious prison, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year jail term for unlawful collusion to raise election financing from the Libyan government – remains the sole surviving prison inside the city of Paris.

Situated in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the last in 1972. Partially shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison reopened five years later and houses over 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned former detainees encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for High-Profile Prisoners

Notable or at-risk prisoners are usually held in the prison's QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP section” – in solitary cells, rather than the usual three-person units, and isolated during exercise periods for protection purposes.

Positioned on the ground floor, the ward has a set of uniform cells and a dedicated exercise yard so detainees are not forced to interact with other detainees – while they continue to be vulnerable to whistles, taunts and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a isolated area. In reality, the environment are largely identical as in QB4: the former president will be solitary in his cell and escorted by a guard each time he leaves it.

“The goal is to avert any issues whatsoever, so we must stop him from encountering fellow detainees,” an insider commented. “The simplest and most efficient method is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Both isolation and protected rooms are identical to those in other parts in the jail, roughly around eleven square meters, with coverings on windows designed to restrict interaction, a bed, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and landline telephone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will also have the option to the prison store, where he can purchase groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a gym and the library. He can pay for a fridge for €7.50 a monthly and a television set for €14.15.

Controlled Interactions

Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will primarily be alone – an advantage in the prison, which in spite of its modernization is functioning at approximately twice its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU bloc.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly asserted his non-guilt, has stated he will be taking with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is condemned to jail but breaks out to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally packing earplugs because prison can be disruptive at night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of being in jail and aims to make use of the period to author a book.

Release Prospects

The duration is unknown, however, the length of time he will actually be housed in the prison: his legal team have lodged for his early release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a risk of absconding, reoffending or influencing testimony to justify his continued detention.

France's law specialists have suggested he could be out in less than a month.