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Maybe France’s most legendary prison, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year jail term for unlawful collusion to raise election financing from Libya – is the only remaining prison inside the city of Paris.

Situated in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it opened in the year 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partially closed for renovation in 2014, the facility reopened in 2019 and houses in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Well-known past prisoners comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for Notable Inmates

Prominent or vulnerable inmates are generally placed in the jail’s QB4 ward for “protected persons” – the often called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, not the typical triple-occupancy cells, and separated during outdoor activities for safety concerns.

Positioned on the first floor, the unit has 19 identical units and a reserved outdoor space so detainees are not obliged to interact with other prisoners – while they remain exposed to calls, taunts and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a distinct block. Actually, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the past leader will be by himself in his cell and escorted by a corrections officer whenever he exits.

“The objective is to prevent any problems whatsoever, so we must prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a prison source commented. “The simplest and best solution is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Both isolation and protected rooms are similar to those elsewhere in the institution, measuring around eleven square meters, with coverings on windows designed to limit contact, a bed, a compact desk, a shower unit, WC, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will additionally have the option to the canteen, where he can buy items to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a fitness room and the library. He can rent a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a month and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three allowed visits a per week, he will mostly be on his own – an advantage in the facility, which in spite of its modernization is running at approximately twice its designed capacity of 657 detainees. France’s jails are the third most packed in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his innocence, has stated he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also bringing hearing protection because the facility can be disruptive at night, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is not scared of serving time in jail and plans to utilize the time to compose a manuscript.

Uncertain Duration

The duration is unknown, nevertheless, how long he will in fact stay in the prison: his lawyers have submitted for his early release, and an appeals judge will need to demonstrate a risk of flight, reoffending or interfering with witnesses to validate his continued detention.

French jurists have suggested he could be out before a month passes.