A 9-12 square metres cell, a single solitary walk a day alone, no personal mobile phone – this is Nicolas Sarkozy’s future for the next five years.
He has today become the first former French president in living memory to be imprisoned.
Not since World War II – when Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 – has any French ex-leader gone behind bars.
Sarkozy started his sentence for conspiring to fund his 2007 presidential election campaign with money from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
After kissing his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, goodbye this morning, the 70-year-old got into a police car and departed for La Santé Prison in Paris.
On his way to prison, Sarkozy said in a statement released on social media that ‘an innocent man’ was being locked up.
Minutes before entering the jail, hundreds of his supporters applauded and chanted ‘Nicolas, Nicolas’ and sang the French anthem.
Two French flags were hung on a fence, with messages: ‘Courage Nicolas, return soon’ and ‘true France with Nicolas.’
There were cries of ‘Welcome Sarko!’ and ‘Sarkozy’s here!’ from inmates, as he was led through the main prison to the so-called VIP wing.
A prison source said: ‘He was well protected, but clearly everyone in the prison knows he’s here.
‘There is a lot of noise at all times, and plenty of people were shouting out welcomes to Mr Sarkozy.’
The former state leader was convicted last month, but contested both the conviction and a judge’s unusual decision to incarcerate him – pending an appeal.
His lawyers confirmed that a request for his release has been immediately filed
What has Sarkozy brought to jail?
Jean-Michel Darrois, one of Sarkozy’s lawyers, said today that the former president got himself ‘mentally prepared’ to be held in solitary confinement, where he would be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons.
He told on France Info: ‘First, he packed a bag with a few sweaters as it is cold in prison, and earplugs because it is very noisy.
‘Isolation like what he’s going to go through is painful, but he got himself prepared.’
Sarkozy had earlier vowed to ‘fight until the end’, warning that he is not afraid of prison.
He said: ‘I will hold my head high, including in front of the doors of La Santé.
La Tribune Dimanche newspaper said Sarkozy has his prison bag ready with clothes and the 10 family photos he is allowed to bring.
The former leader also told Le Figaro newspaper that he would bring three books – the maximum allowed – including Alexandre Dumas’ ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ in which the hero escapes from an island prison before seeking revenge.
What are the conditions of La Santé Prison?
The all-male jail currently holds more than 1,300 inmates – almost double its official capacity.
It remains unclear whether Sarkozy will be placed in isolation or within the ‘VIP quarters,’ a special wing designated for ‘vulnerable people.’
He will likely be held in the isolation unit, where inmates are housed in single cells and kept apart during outdoor activities for security reasons.
Conditions are similar to the rest of the prison. Following renovations, cells now include private showers.
Sarkozy will have access to a television – for a monthly fee of around £12 – and a landline telephone.
Those who have spent time at La Santé – which means Health – include notorious terrorists and armed robbers such as Carlos the Jackal (Illich Ramírez Sanchez) and Jacques Mesrine.
Mesrine – who was known as France’s ‘Public Enemy Number 1’ – infamously escaped from La Santé in May 1978.
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