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Perhaps France’s most notorious prison, the La Santé prison – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy to obtain political donations from the Libyan government – is the only remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Located in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and hosted of at least 40 death penalties, the last in 1972. Partly shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the institution resumed operations in 2019 and holds more than 1,100 prisoners.

Famous former prisoners encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Notable Inmates

High-profile or vulnerable prisoners are usually accommodated in the prison's QB4 section for “individuals at risk” – the dubbed “VIP quarters” – in individual cells, rather than the typical three-inmate cells, and isolated during yard time for protection purposes.

Positioned on the initial level, the ward has nineteen similar units and a dedicated outdoor space so prisoners are not required to interact with fellow inmates – while they are still vulnerable to whistles, insults and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. In reality, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the former president will be by himself in his cell and escorted by a prison officer every time he leaves it.

“The aim is to avoid any incidents at all, so we must prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a prison source revealed. “The easiest and best method is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.”

Living Quarters

Both isolation and protected units are identical to those elsewhere in the institution, averaging around eleven square meters, with coverings on windows designed to reduce interaction, a bed, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will additionally have the option to the canteen, where he can buy groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary outdoor space, a gym and the book collection. He can rent a fridge for seven euros fifty a per month and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Controlled Interactions

Besides three permitted visits a per week, he will primarily be alone – an advantage in the facility, which despite its recent upgrades is operating at roughly twice its designed capacity of 657 inmates. France’s jails are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his non-guilt, has declared he will be carrying with him a biography of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is condemned to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally bringing earplugs because prison can be loud at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of being in prison and plans to make use of the period to compose a publication.

Possible Early Release

It remains uncertain, however, how long he will actually remain in La Santé: his attorneys have submitted for his early release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a risk of escaping, repeat offenses or interfering with witnesses to warrant his continued detention.

French jurists have indicated he may be freed within a month.