What Lies Ahead the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Has He Taken?

Possibly the nation's most legendary correctional facility, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five-year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to obtain campaign funds from the Libyan government – is the last remaining prison within the Paris city limits.

Located in the southern Montparnasse area of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the most recent in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison reopened in 2019 and accommodates in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned past inmates comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and political figure Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Inmates

Prominent or vulnerable inmates are usually placed in the jail’s QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, rather than the standard three-person units, and separated during outdoor activities for security reasons.

Located on the initial level, the ward has 19 identical rooms and a dedicated exercise yard so detainees are not forced to mingle with other prisoners – even though they remain subject to calls, jeers and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a isolated area. In reality, the environment are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be by himself in his cell and supervised by a guard every time he leaves it.

“The goal is to avert any issues whatsoever, so we need to prevent him from meeting any inmates,” a prison source revealed. “The simplest and best solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to segregation.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the solitary and protected cells are similar to those in other parts in the prison, averaging around 10 sq metres, with window coverings intended to restrict interaction, a bed, a compact desk, a shower unit, lavatory, and landline telephone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive typical prison food but will additionally have the option to the canteen, where he can acquire items to prepare himself, as well as to a individual exercise yard, a exercise room and the book collection. He can rent a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a per month and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Limited Social Contact

Besides three allowed visits a week, he will mostly be by himself – a privilege in La Santé, which despite its recent renovation is operating at approximately double its designed capacity of 657 detainees. France’s prisons are the third most overcrowded in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his non-guilt, has said he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus Christ and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is condemned to prison but escapes to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also packing hearing protection because the jail can be disruptive at night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is fearless of being in prison and intends to make use of the period to compose a book.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, though, the length of time he will actually be housed in the facility: his lawyers have already filed for his conditional release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a potential of absconding, reoffending or interfering with witnesses to warrant his further imprisonment.

France's jurists have proposed he may be freed within a month.