What to Expect the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Personal Items Did He Bring?

Perhaps the nation's most notorious prison, the La Santé prison – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy to solicit election financing from the Libyan government – remains the only remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it was inaugurated in 1867 and hosted of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the most recent in 1972. Partially closed for renovation in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and holds over 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned former prisoners encompass the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Prominent Prisoners

Prominent or vulnerable inmates are usually accommodated in the prison's QB4 section for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “premium block” – in solitary cells, not the usual three-person cells, and kept alone during outdoor activities for protection purposes.

Located on the initial level, the section has nineteen similar rooms and a private exercise yard so detainees are not forced to interact with other detainees – while they continue to be subject to calls, taunts and smartphone photos from nearby cells.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a distinct block. In reality, the environment are much the same as in QB4: the ex-president will be alone in his room and accompanied by a guard whenever he exits.

“The goal is to avoid any problems at all, so we must block him from encountering any inmates,” a source within the facility commented. “The most straightforward and most efficient method is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to segregation.”

Living Quarters

Each of the solitary and protected rooms are identical to those in other parts in the institution, roughly approximately 10 square meters, with coverings on windows created to limit communication, a bed, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and stationary phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive typical prison food but will also have the ability to the commissary, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a private exercise yard, a exercise room and the prison library. He can pay for a refrigerator for €7.50 a month and a TV for €14.15.

Controlled Interactions

Apart from three allowed visits a per week, he will mainly be on his own – an advantage in La Santé, which in spite of its recent upgrades is running at approximately double its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. France’s prisons are the third most packed in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his non-guilt, has stated he will be taking with him a account of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to jail but breaks out to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally taking hearing protection because the jail can be noisy at night, and a few jumpers, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of being in prison and aims to make use of the period to write a book.

Release Prospects

It remains uncertain, though, for how long he will actually be housed in La Santé: his attorneys have lodged for his conditional release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a potential of flight, reoffending or influencing testimony to warrant his continued detention.

France's jurists have suggested he might be released in less than a month.