🔗 Share this article

Perhaps France’s most fabled prison, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year incarceration for illegal conspiracy to obtain election financing from the Libyan government – remains the only remaining prison inside the city of Paris.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse area of the city, it opened in 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the facility reopened five years later and holds in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Renowned former inmates comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Prisoners

Prominent or endangered inmates are usually accommodated in the jail’s QB4 ward for “vulnerable people” – the so-called “VIP section” – in individual cells, rather than the standard triple-occupancy rooms, and isolated during yard time for protection purposes.

Located on the ground floor, the ward has 19 identical units and a dedicated recreation area so detainees are not forced to mingle with other prisoners – while they remain exposed to whistles, jeers and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Primarily for this reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a distinct block. Actually, the environment are much the same as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be solitary in his room and escorted by a corrections officer every time he exits.

“The goal is to avert any issues at all, so we have to stop him from encountering fellow detainees,” an insider stated. “The simplest and most efficient approach is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.”

Living Quarters

Both solitary and protected rooms are similar to those elsewhere in the jail, averaging approximately 10 sq metres, with window blinds intended to restrict interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and stationary phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will also have the ability to the prison store, where he can buy groceries to make his own meals, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a exercise room and the book collection. He can lease a fridge for 7.50 euros a monthly and a television set for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

In addition to three authorized meetings a each week, he will mainly be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is running at roughly twice its designed capacity of 657 inmates. France’s correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly asserted his non-guilt, has said he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to prison but flees to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also bringing noise blockers because prison can be disruptive at night, and several sweaters, because cells can be chilly. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of serving time in jail and aims to utilize the time to author a book.

Uncertain Duration

It is unclear, however, the length of time he will actually remain in the prison: his legal team have lodged for his early release, and an appeals judge will must establish a chance of absconding, reoffending or influencing testimony to justify his continued detention.

France's law specialists have indicated he might be released before a month passes.