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Possibly the nation's most notorious correctional facility, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five-year incarceration for criminal conspiracy to raise election financing from the Libyan government – is the last remaining prison within the Paris city limits.

Located in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it was inaugurated in 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the most recent in 1972. Partly shut down for upgrades in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and houses more than 1,100 inmates.

Well-known ex- inmates comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the businessman and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Prisoners

Prominent or vulnerable inmates are generally placed in the jail’s QB4 unit for “protected persons” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, not the typical triple-occupancy units, and isolated during yard time for protection purposes.

Positioned on the first floor, the ward has 19 identical units and a reserved recreation area so detainees are not forced to mingle with fellow inmates – although they are still subject to shouts, taunts and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a separate wing. In reality, circumstances are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the former president will be by himself in his cell and accompanied by a prison officer every time he leaves it.

“The aim is to prevent any incidents at all, so we need to prevent him from encountering fellow detainees,” a prison source revealed. “The most straightforward and most effective method is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to segregation.”

Cell Conditions

Both solitary and VIP cells are the same to those elsewhere in the prison, roughly approximately 10 square meters, with window blinds designed to reduce contact, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can buy groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a private recreation area, a fitness room and the book collection. He can rent a refrigerator for €7.50 a per month and a television for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

In addition to three authorized meetings a per week, he will mostly be by himself – a privilege in La Santé, which in spite of its recent upgrades is operating at about twice its planned occupancy of 657 detainees. The country's correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has stated he will be taking with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is condemned to jail but escapes to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also taking hearing protection because prison can be disruptive at during the night, and several sweaters, because rooms can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of serving time in jail and intends to make use of the period to write a manuscript.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, nevertheless, the length of time he will in fact be housed in the facility: his attorneys have already filed for his early release, and an appeals judge will need to demonstrate a risk of absconding, reoffending or influencing testimony to validate his ongoing incarceration.

French jurists have suggested he could be out before a month passes.