Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began on Tuesday his five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, marking the first time since World War II that a French ex-leader has faced imprisonment, following Philippe Petain’s treason conviction in 1945. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, has immediately appealed the conviction, seeking a review of the controversial judicial decision.
Day of Confinement and Defiance
The former center-right leader maintained his innocence throughout the highly publicized Libyan money affair, protesting the judgment right up to his arrival at the jail. Consequently, more than 100 dedicated supporters gathered, loudly applauding and shouting “Nicolas!” as he left his exclusive villa in Paris’s 16th district, hand-in-hand with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
His son, Louis, 28, previously appealed for this public show of support, and his other son, Pierre, asked for messages of love for his father. Sarkozy, 70, entered La Santé prison in the Montparnasse district at 09:40 local time while dozens of police officers actively cordoned off all surrounding streets.
Before entering the facility, Sarkozy posted a defiant message on X, asserting: “Truth will prevail, but how crushing the price will have been for me personally.” Furthermore, he told the French people that authorities were not locking up an ex-president, but rather were unjustly imprisoning an innocent man.
Moments after his incarceration, Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, filed a formal request for his client’s immediate release, declaring nothing justified this harsh imprisonment. Ingrain estimated the former president would remain inside for at least three weeks or perhaps even a full month pending initial legal motions.
Conditions of Solitary Confinement
Sarkozy expressly stated that he wanted no special treatment while at La Sante prison. However, officials placed him in the isolation section for crucial security reasons, separating him from other inmates, many of whom are convicted terrorists or notorious drug dealers. His small cell in the prison’s isolation wing measures between 9-11 square meters and offers basic amenities. Specifically, Sarkozy has access to a private toilet, a shower, a small desk, an electric hob, and a television, for which he must pay a minimal monthly fee.
Crucially, he lives in solitary confinement, allowed only a single hour of daily exercise by himself in the segregated wing’s courtyard. Flavie Rault, La Sante’s former deputy head, described the strict isolation wing as particularly difficult because continuous social separation makes prison life harder. Sarkozy does retain the right to receive information from the outside world, family visits, and written or phone contact with friends and relatives.
