What Awaits Sarkozy in the La Santé Facility and What Belongings Has He Taken?

Perhaps France’s most fabled jail, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy to obtain political donations from Libya – stands as the only remaining prison inside the city of Paris.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse area of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially closed for upgrades in 2014, the prison resumed operations half a decade later and accommodates more than 1,100 detainees.

Famous ex- detainees include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Inmates

Prominent or at-risk detainees are generally held in the jail’s QB4 ward for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, not the standard three-person units, and separated during exercise periods for security reasons.

Positioned on the first floor, the section has a set of uniform cells and a private recreation area so detainees are not forced to interact with other prisoners – although they are still vulnerable to whistles, taunts and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a distinct block. In reality, the environment are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the former president will be solitary in his room and accompanied by a prison officer whenever he leaves it.

“The objective is to avoid any issues at all, so we must stop him from meeting fellow detainees,” an insider stated. “The easiest and best method is to send Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to segregation.”

Accommodation Details

Both isolation and VIP rooms are the same to those elsewhere in the jail, measuring approximately 10 square meters, with window coverings created to restrict communication, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will also have the option to the commissary, where he can purchase groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a private outdoor space, a exercise room and the book collection. He can pay for a refrigerator for €7.50 a month and a TV for 14.15 euros.

Limited Social Contact

Besides three permitted visits a per week, he will mostly be on his own – a privilege in the facility, which in spite of its recent renovation is running at approximately double its intended capacity of 657 detainees. The country's prisons are the third most packed in the EU.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his non-guilt, has declared he will be taking with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to prison but escapes to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also bringing earplugs because prison can be disruptive at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of spending time in prison and plans to use it to author a manuscript.

Possible Early Release

The duration is unknown, though, how long he will in fact be housed in the facility: his legal team have lodged for his premature release, and an reviewing judge will need to demonstrate a chance of absconding, repeat offenses or influencing testimony to warrant his continued detention.

France's legal experts have indicated he could be out within a month.