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Maybe the nation's most notorious correctional facility, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to solicit campaign funds from Libya – is the sole surviving prison inside the city of Paris.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it first opened in 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 executions, the final one in 1972. Partly closed for renovation in 2014, the prison reopened in 2019 and accommodates in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Famous ex- prisoners include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Prominent Inmates

Prominent or at-risk prisoners are generally accommodated in the prison's QB4 section for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, not the usual three-inmate rooms, and separated during outdoor activities for security reasons.

Situated on the initial level, the ward has nineteen similar cells and a dedicated exercise yard so inmates are not forced to interact with fellow inmates – while they continue to be exposed to whistles, jeers and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. Actually, circumstances are largely identical as in the protected unit: the past leader will be alone in his unit and accompanied by a prison officer each time he goes out.

“The aim is to avert any issues at all, so we have to stop him from meeting any inmates,” an insider revealed. “The easiest and most effective method is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the solitary and protected cells are similar to those elsewhere in the prison, measuring around eleven square meters, with window blinds created to restrict interaction, a bed, a small desk, a shower, toilet, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy is provided with typical prison food but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can buy food to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a exercise room and the library. He can pay for a fridge for €7.50 a per month and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Controlled Interactions

Apart from three permitted visits a per week, he will mainly be by himself – an advantage in La Santé, which in spite of its recent renovation is operating at approximately double its planned occupancy of 657 detainees. France’s jails are the third most packed in the European Union.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has consistently maintained his non-guilt, has stated he will be carrying with him a life story of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is given a sentence to prison but breaks out to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally taking noise blockers because the facility can be loud at nighttime, and several sweaters, because rooms can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of being in jail and intends to use it to author a book.

Possible Early Release

It remains uncertain, however, the length of time he will actually stay in La Santé: his attorneys have lodged for his conditional release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a risk of escaping, reoffending or influencing testimony to justify his continued detention.

France's jurists have indicated he might be released in less than a month.