What to Expect the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Did He Bring?

Possibly the nation's most notorious jail, the La Santé prison – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year jail term for illegal conspiracy to raise election financing from the Libyan government – stands as the sole surviving prison inside the Paris city limits.

Found in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it was inaugurated in 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 executions, the final one in 1972. Partly shut down for renovation in 2014, the facility reopened in 2019 and houses in excess of 1,100 inmates.

Well-known ex- detainees comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Prominent Prisoners

Notable or endangered detainees are typically held in the prison's QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP section” – in individual cells, rather than the typical three-inmate cells, and isolated during yard time for protection purposes.

Positioned on the initial level, the unit has 19 identical cells and a private recreation area so inmates are not obliged to interact with other detainees – even though they remain subject to calls, jeers and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Primarily for such concerns, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. Practically, circumstances are largely identical as in QB4: the ex-president will be by himself in his unit and escorted by a guard every time he leaves it.

“The goal is to avoid any issues at all, so we need to prevent him from coming into contact with other prisoners,” a source within the facility revealed. “The most straightforward and most effective solution is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the solitary and protected units are identical to those in other parts in the institution, measuring around 10 square meters, with window blinds designed to restrict interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower, WC, and stationary phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will be served standard meals but will additionally have the option to the prison store, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a private outdoor space, a gym and the library. He can rent a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a monthly and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.

Controlled Interactions

Besides three allowed visits a each week, he will mostly be alone – a privilege in the prison, which in spite of its recent upgrades is operating at about twice its designed capacity of 657 detainees. The country's correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU bloc.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has consistently protested his innocence, has said he will be bringing with him a life story of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to jail but flees to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally bringing earplugs because prison can be noisy at night, and multiple sweaters, because units can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is unafraid of being in jail and intends to use it to compose a publication.

Uncertain Duration

It remains uncertain, though, how long he will in fact remain in the facility: his legal team have already filed for his early release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a chance of flight, reoffending or interfering with witnesses to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French legal experts have suggested he could be out within a month.