What Lies Ahead the Former President in the La Santé Facility and What Belongings Has He Taken?

Maybe France’s most legendary correctional facility, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to solicit election financing from the Libyan government – remains the only remaining prison within the Paris city limits.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it opened in 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 executions, the most recent in 1972. Partially shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the institution resumed operations in 2019 and accommodates in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Famous ex- prisoners comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Inmates

High-profile or at-risk detainees are typically held in the jail’s QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the often called “premium block” – in individual cells, not the standard triple-occupancy cells, and separated during outdoor activities for protection purposes.

Located on the initial level, the unit has nineteen similar rooms and a dedicated outdoor space so detainees are not required to mix with other detainees – although they are still vulnerable to shouts, insults and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. In reality, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the past leader will be alone in his unit and escorted by a guard each time he leaves it.

“The aim is to avert any incidents whatsoever, so we have to stop him from encountering fellow detainees,” a prison source commented. “The most straightforward and most efficient solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Both solitary and VIP cells are identical to those in other parts in the institution, measuring approximately eleven square meters, with window blinds designed to limit contact, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower unit, lavatory, and stationary phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with standard meals but will also have the ability to the commissary, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a individual recreation area, a gym and the library. He can lease a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a month and a TV for 14.15 euros.

Controlled Interactions

Besides three allowed visits a per week, he will primarily be by himself – an advantage in the facility, which despite its recent upgrades is functioning at roughly double its intended capacity of 657 detainees. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the EU.

Personal Belongings

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

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also taking hearing protection because the facility can be loud at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cold. Sarkozy has said he is fearless of serving time in prison and plans to make use of the period to write a publication.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, though, for how long he will in fact be housed in the facility: his legal team have lodged for his early release, and an appeals judge will need to demonstrate a chance of flight, further crimes or witness-tampering to validate his ongoing incarceration.

French jurists have indicated he may be freed in less than a month.