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Perhaps France’s most legendary prison, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to obtain political donations from Libya – remains the sole surviving prison inside the Paris city limits.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse district of the capital, it opened in the year 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 death penalties, the most recent in 1972. Partly shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison reopened in 2019 and holds more than 1,100 prisoners.

Well-known former prisoners include the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Prominent Inmates

Notable or at-risk inmates are generally placed in the prison's QB4 ward for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP section” – in solitary cells, not the standard three-inmate units, and kept alone during exercise periods for safety concerns.

Positioned on the ground floor, the section has 19 identical rooms and a dedicated recreation area so detainees are not forced to mingle with fellow inmates – while they remain vulnerable to whistles, jeers and smartphone photos from adjacent cells.

Mainly for this reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the isolation ward, which is in a isolated area. In reality, circumstances are very similar as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be by himself in his unit and supervised by a prison officer every time he leaves it.

“The aim is to prevent any issues whatsoever, so we must block him from meeting any inmates,” an insider revealed. “The most straightforward and most efficient approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”

Living Quarters

Both isolation and VIP rooms are identical to those in other parts in the institution, roughly around 10 square meters, with window blinds created to reduce interaction, a bed, a writing table, a shower, toilet, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will additionally have the ability to the prison store, where he can acquire food to make his own meals, as well as to a private recreation area, a gym and the library. He can rent a refrigerator for €7.50 a per month and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Besides three permitted visits a per week, he will mainly be alone – a luxury in the facility, which in spite of its modernization is operating at roughly twice its intended capacity of 657 detainees. The country's prisons are the third most overcrowded in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has stated he will be carrying with him a biography of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to prison but escapes to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally taking hearing protection because prison can be disruptive at night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is not scared of serving time in jail and intends to use it to write a publication.

Uncertain Duration

It is unclear, however, how long he will really stay in the facility: his attorneys have lodged for his premature release, and an reviewing judge will need to demonstrate a risk of absconding, reoffending or witness-tampering to justify his continued detention.

French jurists have suggested he may be freed before a month passes.