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Possibly France’s most legendary jail, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year incarceration for illegal conspiracy to obtain campaign funds from Libya – remains the last remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it opened in 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the final one in 1972. Partly closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison resumed operations in 2019 and accommodates over 1,100 detainees.

Renowned ex- prisoners comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for Notable Prisoners

Prominent or vulnerable detainees are usually held in the jail’s QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the so-called “premium block” – in individual cells, rather than the standard three-inmate rooms, and isolated during outdoor activities for protection purposes.

Positioned on the ground floor, the section has 19 identical cells and a reserved exercise yard so detainees are not obliged to mix with fellow inmates – even though they remain subject to calls, jeers and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a isolated area. Actually, circumstances are much the same as in QB4: the ex-president will be alone in his cell and accompanied by a prison officer each time he leaves it.

“The aim is to prevent any issues whatsoever, so we have to prevent him from coming into contact with other prisoners,” a prison source commented. “The easiest and best solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”

Living Quarters

Both isolation and VIP rooms are identical to those elsewhere in the institution, averaging around 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows designed to restrict contact, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, toilet, and landline telephone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will additionally have the ability to the commissary, where he can acquire items to prepare himself, as well as to a individual exercise yard, a fitness room and the prison library. He can pay for a refrigerator for €7.50 a per month and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will primarily be by himself – an advantage in the prison, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is running at approximately twice its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. The country's correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, has stated he will be bringing 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 falsely convicted person is given a sentence to prison but flees to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also bringing noise blockers because the facility can be loud at night, and several sweaters, because rooms can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of serving time in prison and plans to utilize the time to compose a book.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, however, the length of time he will actually remain in the facility: his lawyers have submitted for his early release, and an judge on appeal will must establish a risk of absconding, repeat offenses or influencing testimony to validate his continued detention.

France's legal experts have suggested he might be released in less than a month.