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Perhaps France’s most legendary correctional facility, the La Santé prison – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five-year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to obtain campaign funds from the Libyan government – is the sole surviving 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 scene of at least 40 capital punishments, the final one in 1972. Partially closed for renovation in 2014, the facility resumed operations in 2019 and houses in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Famous ex- inmates encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for Notable Inmates

High-profile or endangered prisoners are usually held in the prison's QB4 section for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP section” – in solitary cells, not the standard three-inmate rooms, and kept alone during outdoor activities for security reasons.

Positioned on the initial level, the unit has a set of uniform units and a dedicated recreation area so prisoners are not forced to interact with other prisoners – while they continue to be vulnerable to shouts, insults and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells.

Primarily for that reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a separate wing. In reality, conditions are much the same as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be by himself in his cell and accompanied by a corrections officer whenever he leaves it.

“The objective is to avoid any issues whatsoever, so we have to prevent him from coming into contact with any inmates,” a prison source revealed. “The easiest and most efficient method is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Living Quarters

Each of the solitary and VIP cells are similar to those elsewhere in the institution, measuring about eleven square meters, with window coverings designed to reduce interaction, a bed, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive typical prison food but will also have access to the canteen, where he can purchase items to make his own meals, as well as to a private exercise yard, a fitness room and the library. He can pay for a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a per month and a television for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

Besides three permitted visits a each week, he will mainly be by himself – a privilege in the prison, which in spite of its recent renovation is functioning at approximately twice its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. France’s correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly maintained his non-guilt, has stated he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to prison but flees to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also taking hearing protection because prison can be loud at night, and several sweaters, because units can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of being in jail and aims to utilize the time to compose a publication.

Release Prospects

It remains uncertain, however, the length of time he will actually stay in the facility: his attorneys have lodged for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a potential of escaping, further crimes or influencing testimony to justify his further imprisonment.

France's law specialists have suggested he might be released within a month.