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Possibly France’s most notorious jail, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year jail term for illegal conspiracy to solicit election financing from Libya – is 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 the year 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially closed for upgrades in 2014, the institution reopened in 2019 and accommodates more than 1,100 detainees.

Well-known ex- prisoners include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Prisoners

Notable or vulnerable detainees are usually placed in the prison's QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP section” – in individual cells, not the usual three-inmate cells, and kept alone during exercise periods for security reasons.

Situated on the initial level, the section has a set of uniform cells and a reserved outdoor space so inmates are not forced to mingle with other detainees – even though they remain vulnerable to whistles, jeers and cellphone pictures from neighboring units.

Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. In reality, circumstances are largely identical as in the protected unit: the former president will be solitary in his unit and supervised by a corrections officer every time he goes out.

“The aim is to avoid any incidents at all, so we have to stop him from meeting other prisoners,” a source within the facility stated. “The most straightforward and most effective solution is to send Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to solitary confinement.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the isolation and VIP cells are identical to those elsewhere in the jail, averaging about 10 square meters, with coverings on windows intended to limit contact, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower unit, WC, and stationary phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will additionally have the ability to the commissary, where he can buy groceries to prepare himself, as well as to a individual recreation area, a gym and the prison library. He can pay for a fridge for 7.50 euros a monthly and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Controlled Interactions

In addition to three allowed visits a week, he will mostly be alone – a luxury in the facility, which in spite of its recent upgrades is operating at approximately double its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. France’s correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, has said he will be taking with him a life story of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is condemned to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally bringing noise blockers because the facility can be noisy at nighttime, and several sweaters, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of being in jail and aims to use it to author a publication.

Uncertain Duration

The duration is unknown, nevertheless, the length of time he will actually stay in La Santé: his lawyers have submitted for his premature release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a risk of flight, repeat offenses or witness-tampering to validate his continued detention.

France's law specialists have proposed he could be out in less than a month.