What to Expect the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Personal Items Has He Taken?

Possibly the nation's most fabled jail, La Santé – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year jail term for unlawful collusion to raise election financing from the Libyan government – is the only remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it opened in 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison resumed operations five years later and accommodates in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned ex- detainees comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and Nazi collaborator 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 Prominent Prisoners

Prominent or at-risk detainees are generally held in the jail’s QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the so-called “VIP section” – in individual cells, rather than the standard three-inmate units, and separated during yard time for safety concerns.

Situated on the first floor, the ward has nineteen similar rooms and a reserved exercise yard so detainees are not obliged to interact with other prisoners – although they are still exposed to whistles, insults and mobile snapshots from adjacent cells.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. In reality, the environment are very similar as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be alone in his cell and supervised by a corrections officer whenever he exits.

“The objective is to avert any problems at all, so we need to stop him from meeting other prisoners,” a prison source commented. “The most straightforward and best solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy straight to segregation.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the isolation and VIP rooms are similar to those in other parts in the jail, averaging approximately eleven square meters, with coverings on windows designed to restrict contact, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive regular meals but will also have the option to the commissary, where he can purchase items to prepare himself, as well as to a individual recreation area, a gym and the prison library. He can lease a refrigerator for 7.50 euros a month and a television set for €14.15.

Controlled Interactions

Besides three authorized meetings a per week, he will mostly be on his own – a luxury in La Santé, which despite its recent upgrades is functioning at about double its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly maintained his non-guilt, has said he will be bringing with him a life story of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but flees to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally packing hearing protection because the facility can be noisy at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cool. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of being in prison and aims to make use of the period to compose a book.

Uncertain Duration

It remains uncertain, however, the length of time he will actually remain in the prison: his legal team have submitted for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will must establish a chance of absconding, reoffending or influencing testimony to validate his further imprisonment.

French jurists have suggested he may be freed within a month.