Perhaps France’s most notorious correctional facility, the La Santé prison – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to solicit election financing from the Libyan government – remains the sole surviving prison inside the French capital's boundaries.
Located in the south part of Montparnasse district of the capital, it first opened in 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially shut down for upgrades in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and accommodates in excess of 1,100 prisoners.
Famous past prisoners encompass the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.
Protected Wing for Notable Inmates
Notable or vulnerable prisoners are usually accommodated in the jail’s QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the often called “premium block” – in solitary cells, not the typical three-person rooms, and kept alone during exercise periods for safety concerns.
Positioned on the ground floor, the ward has a set of uniform units and a dedicated exercise yard so inmates are not required to mingle with other detainees – although they continue to be subject to calls, insults and smartphone photos from adjacent cells.
Primarily for this reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a isolated area. Actually, the environment are much the same as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be by himself in his unit and supervised by a corrections officer each time he goes out.
“The objective is to avert any issues whatsoever, so we have to prevent him from coming into contact with other prisoners,” a source within the facility stated. “The simplest and most efficient method is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”
Cell Conditions
Both solitary and protected rooms are similar to those elsewhere in the jail, roughly about 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows designed to restrict contact, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, toilet, and stationary phone with pre-set numbers.
Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can purchase food to cook for himself, as well as to a private recreation area, a gym and the prison library. He can pay for a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a per month and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.
Limited Social Contact
Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will primarily be by himself – a privilege in La Santé, which despite its modernization is operating at about double its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. France’s jails are the third most congested in the European Union.
Items Brought
Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has said he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is condemned to prison but flees to seek vengeance.
Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also packing hearing protection because prison can be disruptive at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is unafraid of spending time in prison and intends to utilize the time to author a publication.
Release Prospects
The duration is unknown, however, how long he will actually remain in the prison: his attorneys have lodged for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a potential of absconding, further crimes or influencing testimony to validate his further imprisonment.
France's legal experts have indicated he could be out in less than a month.
