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Maybe France’s most fabled correctional facility, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year jail term for unlawful collusion to obtain political donations from Libya – stands as the only remaining prison within the city of Paris.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and hosted of at least 40 death penalties, the most recent in 1972. Partly shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison resumed operations five years later and houses more than 1,100 detainees.

Famous past detainees encompass 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 model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Prisoners

Prominent or endangered detainees are generally held in the jail’s QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the dubbed “premium block” – in single cells, not the standard three-person rooms, and kept alone during yard time for safety concerns.

Positioned on the ground floor, the ward has a set of uniform units and a private outdoor space so inmates are not obliged to mix with other prisoners – even though they are still vulnerable to whistles, taunts and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a isolated area. Actually, the environment are largely identical as in QB4: the former president will be solitary in his unit and escorted by a guard every time he goes out.

“The objective is to prevent any incidents whatsoever, so we need to prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a source within the facility stated. “The easiest and best solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the isolation and VIP rooms are similar to those in other parts in the jail, averaging approximately eleven square meters, with window blinds intended to restrict communication, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower, toilet, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will additionally have the ability to the commissary, where he can buy food to prepare himself, as well as to a individual exercise yard, a fitness room and the book collection. He can pay for a refrigerator for €7.50 a month and a television for 14.15 euros.

Restricted Visits

In addition to three allowed visits a each week, he will primarily be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which notwithstanding its modernization is functioning at roughly double its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. The country's jails are the third most packed in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly protested his non-guilt, has said he will be taking with him a account of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is given a sentence to prison but breaks out to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally packing hearing protection because the jail can be loud at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cold. Sarkozy has said he is unafraid of being in jail and intends to utilize the time to author a book.

Uncertain Duration

It is unclear, though, the length of time he will really remain in the facility: his lawyers have lodged for his premature release, and an appeals judge will need to demonstrate a risk of escaping, reoffending or influencing testimony to justify his further imprisonment.

French law specialists have proposed he may be freed before a month passes.