What Awaits Sarkozy in the La Santé Facility and What Belongings Did He Bring?

Possibly the nation's most legendary jail, La Santé – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year incarceration for unlawful collusion to obtain political donations from Libya – stands as the only remaining prison inside the Paris city limits.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partially shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the prison reopened in 2019 and accommodates in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Famous ex- inmates encompass the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Prominent Inmates

Notable or endangered inmates are usually placed in the prison's QB4 ward for “individuals at risk” – the dubbed “VIP quarters” – in individual cells, rather than the standard triple-occupancy cells, and isolated during exercise periods for protection purposes.

Situated on the ground floor, the unit has 19 identical units and a private recreation area so inmates are not obliged to mix with other detainees – even though they are still vulnerable to shouts, taunts and smartphone photos from adjacent cells.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a separate wing. In reality, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the ex-president will be solitary in his room and accompanied by a prison officer whenever he leaves it.

“The objective is to prevent any problems at all, so we must block him from encountering fellow detainees,” a prison source revealed. “The easiest and most effective approach is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the solitary and VIP cells are the same to those in other parts in the institution, roughly about 10 sq metres, with window coverings created to reduce interaction, a bed, a compact desk, a shower unit, toilet, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will also have the ability to the commissary, where he can buy food to cook for himself, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a fitness room and the book collection. He can pay for a fridge for 7.50 euros a monthly and a TV for €14.15.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three allowed visits a per week, he will primarily be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which in spite of its recent renovation is functioning at roughly twice its designed capacity of 657 detainees. The country's correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU bloc.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his non-guilt, has declared he will be carrying with him a life story of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to prison but flees to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally bringing noise blockers because the jail can be noisy at night, and several sweaters, because units can be cool. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of being in prison and plans to make use of the period to author a publication.

Release Prospects

It remains uncertain, nevertheless, how long he will in fact remain in the prison: his legal team have submitted for his early release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a risk of flight, further crimes or interfering with witnesses to justify his further imprisonment.

French legal experts have suggested he might be released in less than a month.