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Nicolas Sarkozyformer french chairmanready to start five years prison After that punishment on Tuesday strong belief for the criminal conspiracystemming from allegations Blame Illicit campaign financing received from Libya during the reign of Muammar Gaddafi.
He will be held in La Santé prison in central Paris, which has a notable history having previously housed figures such as leftist militant Carlos the Jackal and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.
It is unclear whether Sarkozy will be kept in isolation or within the “VIP quarter”, a special wing designated for “vulnerable people”. This section has previously included prominent political figures, including Sarkozy’s former aide Claude Guent, who was found guilty just last Thursday.
The French Justice Ministry and the Paris-la-Santé administration did not answer questions about where Sarkozy would be held.
La Sainte’s location in the capital will make it easy for friends and family to come see Sarkozy. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, a protégé of Sarkozy, who now controls the prison system, said on Monday he would meet the former president behind bars.
How are the conditions?
Prison guard union representative Wilfried Fonck told Reuters that prisoners in the “VIP” wing are housed in single cells rather than the usual three-person units, and are kept alone during outside activities for security reasons.
Furthermore, Fonck said, conditions in the prison are no better than elsewhere, where cells are typically 9–12 square meters (100–130 square feet).
According to a 2020 report by the Inspector-General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, the isolation cells, in a separate wing, are designed to limit communication between detainees with window coverings of 9 square metres.
According to Julien Fischmeister of the French section of the International Prison Observatory, La Santé was recently renovated, and therefore its conditions are better than many other prisons.
All cells now have their own showers and landline phones. Sarkozy will also have access to television, but will have to pay 14 euros per month for the privilege.
Fischmeister said that food would be delivered to Sarkozy, and the prison also allows prisoners to purchase produce to prepare their own meals in their cells.
What has Sarkozy said about prison?
The former president said Sunday that he is not afraid of going to jail and plans to use the time to write a book.
Still, prison can be a harrowing experience for a tough-on-crime leader who once called youths rioting in the suburbs “scum”, and threatened to “drain” them with high-powered water pipes.
like many prisons FranceLa Sainte is overcrowded – although Sarkozy will be kept separate from other prisoners. According to Justice Ministry figures, as of August there were 1,243 prisoners in the prison, which is designed to hold 657.
According to 2024 data from the Council of Europe, France has the third most overcrowded prisons in Europe, after Slovenia and Cyprus.
What is going on in French prisons?
Darminin is leading a government effort to toughen conditions for dangerous prisoners in prisons across France.
Police say some prisoners run drug trade using smuggled mobile phones and have even used them to order attacks on rivals. Some people have been caught on video ordering kebabs and sushi, which are delivered to their cells via drone.
Earlier this year, there were a series of attacks on prisons across France. Authorities say it was organized by members of a Telegram group calling itself French Prisoner Rights, and sought to highlight the horrific conditions faced by prisoners.