🔗 Share this article

Maybe the nation's most fabled prison, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to obtain political donations from Libya – is the sole surviving prison within the Paris city limits.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse district of the city, it was inaugurated in 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the final one in 1972. Partially shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the facility reopened in 2019 and accommodates more than 1,100 inmates.

Well-known past detainees comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Inmates

High-profile or at-risk inmates are typically accommodated in the jail’s QB4 ward for “protected persons” – the so-called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, rather than the standard triple-occupancy units, and isolated during outdoor activities for safety concerns.

Located on the first floor, the section has nineteen similar cells and a reserved recreation area so inmates are not forced to interact with fellow inmates – even though they continue to be vulnerable to whistles, jeers and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a isolated area. Actually, circumstances are largely identical as in QB4: the past leader will be solitary in his room and supervised by a guard each time he goes out.

“The aim is to avert any issues whatsoever, so we must block him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a source within the facility commented. “The simplest and best solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Both isolation and protected rooms are the same to those elsewhere in the prison, averaging approximately eleven square meters, with window blinds designed to limit communication, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, toilet, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can purchase 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 7.50 euros a month and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.

Controlled Interactions

Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will mostly be alone – a privilege in the prison, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is operating at roughly double its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. France’s correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the EU bloc.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his non-guilt, has said he will be carrying with him a life story of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to jail but flees to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was additionally bringing noise blockers because the facility can be loud at nighttime, and several sweaters, because units can be cool. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of spending time in prison and aims to make use of the period to compose a book.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, though, for how long he will actually stay in the facility: his legal team have submitted for his early release, and an reviewing judge will have to prove a potential of flight, repeat offenses or interfering with witnesses to warrant his ongoing incarceration.

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