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Perhaps the nation's most notorious correctional facility, La Santé – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year jail term for unlawful collusion to solicit campaign funds from Libya – is the last remaining prison within the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse district of the capital, it opened in the year 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 executions, the most recent in 1972. Partially closed for renovation in 2014, the prison reopened in 2019 and houses more than 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned past detainees encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for Notable Prisoners

High-profile or vulnerable detainees are generally placed in the jail’s QB4 section for “vulnerable people” – the so-called “VIP quarters” – in individual cells, not the standard three-inmate rooms, and kept alone during outdoor activities for security reasons.

Located on the ground floor, the ward has nineteen similar units and a private exercise yard so inmates are not required to mingle with other prisoners – while they remain vulnerable to calls, taunts and smartphone photos from nearby cells.

Primarily for this reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. Practically, circumstances are much the same as in QB4: the former president will be alone in his cell and accompanied by a corrections officer every time he leaves it.

“The goal is to prevent any incidents whatsoever, so we must block him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a prison source commented. “The easiest and most efficient approach is to send Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to segregation.”

Living Quarters

Both solitary and VIP units are similar to those in other parts in the institution, roughly about eleven square meters, with window blinds intended to reduce interaction, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower unit, WC, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy is provided with standard meals but will also have access to the canteen, where he can purchase items to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a fitness room and the book collection. He can rent a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a month and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three permitted visits a week, he will mostly be on his own – a privilege in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent upgrades is operating at roughly double its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's prisons are the third most congested in the European Union.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his non-guilt, has declared he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to prison but escapes to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally taking earplugs because the jail can be disruptive at night, and a few jumpers, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of being in jail and aims to make use of the period to compose a manuscript.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, however, for how long he will in fact remain in La Santé: his attorneys have already filed for his conditional release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a potential of absconding, further crimes or influencing testimony to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French law specialists have proposed he might be released within a month.