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Maybe France’s most fabled prison, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year jail term for illegal conspiracy to raise election financing from the Libyan government – stands as the last remaining prison inside the city of Paris.

Situated in the southern Montparnasse area of the capital, it first opened in 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 executions, the last in 1972. Partly closed for refurbishment in 2014, the institution reopened five years later and houses over 1,100 detainees.

Renowned ex- inmates comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Inmates

Notable or vulnerable inmates are usually placed in the prison's QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the so-called “premium block” – in single cells, not the typical three-person units, and separated during outdoor activities for security reasons.

Positioned on the initial level, the ward has 19 identical cells and a private recreation area so prisoners are not required to mix with other prisoners – although they continue to be subject to whistles, jeers and mobile snapshots from neighboring units.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. Actually, conditions are largely identical as in QB4: the past leader will be by himself in his room and accompanied by a prison officer each time he leaves it.

“The goal is to avoid any incidents at all, so we have to block him from coming into contact with any inmates,” a source within the facility revealed. “The most straightforward and best approach is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Both solitary and VIP cells are identical to those elsewhere in the prison, measuring approximately 10 square meters, with window coverings created to limit contact, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower, toilet, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will also have the ability to the prison store, where he can purchase items to prepare himself, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a fitness room and the library. He can pay for a fridge for 7.50 euros a per month and a television set for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

In addition to three allowed visits a each week, he will mainly be by himself – a privilege in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent upgrades is running at approximately twice its planned occupancy of 657 detainees. France’s jails are the third most packed in the EU bloc.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has consistently protested his non-guilt, has stated he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is given a sentence to jail but flees to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also taking earplugs because the jail can be loud at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cool. Sarkozy has stated he is unafraid of being in jail and aims to use it to compose a book.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, however, how long he will in fact remain in the prison: his attorneys have submitted for his early release, and an appeals judge will must establish a chance of flight, repeat offenses or witness-tampering to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French legal experts have proposed he may be freed in less than a month.