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Maybe France’s most notorious jail, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy to solicit political donations from the Libyan government – is the sole surviving prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Found in the southern Montparnasse area of the capital, it first opened in 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 executions, the most recent in 1972. Partially shut down for upgrades in 2014, the institution resumed operations in 2019 and houses in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Famous past detainees comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Prominent Inmates

Notable or vulnerable detainees are generally held in the prison's QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the often called “VIP section” – in individual cells, rather than the standard three-person rooms, and isolated during outdoor activities for protection purposes.

Situated on the first floor, the section has a set of uniform cells and a dedicated recreation area so detainees are not obliged to interact with other detainees – even though they continue to be exposed to calls, jeers and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mostly for this reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a distinct block. Practically, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the past leader will be alone in his unit and accompanied by a prison officer each time he exits.

“The goal is to avoid any problems at all, so we need to block him from encountering other prisoners,” a prison source commented. “The easiest and most effective method is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the isolation and VIP rooms are identical to those elsewhere in the institution, roughly approximately 10 square meters, with coverings on windows created to limit interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will also have the option to the commissary, where he can buy groceries to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary exercise yard, a exercise room and the library. He can pay for a fridge for €7.50 a monthly and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.

Limited Social Contact

Apart from three permitted visits a week, he will primarily be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which in spite of its recent renovation is functioning at about twice its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. France’s correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has stated he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to prison but escapes to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also bringing noise blockers because the facility can be disruptive at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has stated he is fearless of serving time in prison and plans to make use of the period to write a manuscript.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, nevertheless, how long he will actually be housed in La Santé: his lawyers have already filed for his early release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a chance of absconding, reoffending or witness-tampering to warrant his further imprisonment.

France's legal experts have indicated he may be freed before a month passes.