What to Expect the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Has He Taken?
Perhaps France’s most fabled jail, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to solicit campaign funds from Libya – is the last remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.
Located in the south part of Montparnasse district of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 executions, the final one in 1972. Partially shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the institution reopened in 2019 and houses in excess of 1,100 inmates.
Well-known ex- inmates include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.
Protected Wing for High-Profile Inmates
Prominent or at-risk inmates are typically accommodated in the jail’s QB4 ward for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP section” – in individual cells, not the typical three-person rooms, and isolated during yard time for protection purposes.
Situated on the first floor, the unit has a set of uniform rooms and a private recreation area so detainees are not required to mingle with fellow inmates – while they continue to be exposed to shouts, taunts and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells.
Mostly for this reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a distinct block. In reality, conditions are very similar as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be by himself in his room and supervised by a corrections officer every time he goes out.
“The aim is to avoid any problems at all, so we must block him from coming into contact with any inmates,” a prison source commented. “The most straightforward and most effective solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”
Accommodation Details
Each of the solitary and protected cells are identical to those elsewhere in the institution, averaging around 10 sq metres, with window coverings intended to restrict interaction, a bed, a compact desk, a shower unit, toilet, and stationary phone with pre-set numbers.
Sarkozy will be served regular meals but will additionally have access to the canteen, where he can buy groceries to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary exercise yard, a fitness room and the book collection. He can rent a cooling unit for seven euros fifty a monthly and a TV for 14.15 euros.
Restricted Visits
Apart from three allowed visits a each week, he will mostly be on his own – a privilege in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent upgrades is functioning at about twice its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the EU bloc.
Personal Belongings
Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his non-guilt, has declared he will be bringing with him a biography of Jesus Christ and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to prison but breaks out to take revenge.
Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also taking noise blockers because the jail can be disruptive at night, and multiple sweaters, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has said he is fearless of spending time in prison and plans to make use of the period to compose a book.
Release Prospects
It is unclear, however, the length of time he will really stay in La Santé: his lawyers have lodged for his conditional release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a risk of flight, further crimes or interfering with witnesses to warrant his further imprisonment.
French legal experts have indicated he could be out before a month passes.
