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Possibly France’s most legendary correctional facility, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy to raise political donations from Libya – remains the sole surviving prison within the city of Paris.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse area of the capital, it opened in 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partly closed for upgrades in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and houses more than 1,100 prisoners.

Well-known past detainees encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Notable Inmates

High-profile or vulnerable inmates are generally accommodated in the prison's QB4 ward for “individuals at risk” – the so-called “VIP quarters” – in individual cells, rather than the standard three-person units, and kept alone during yard time for security reasons.

Positioned on the first floor, the unit has 19 identical cells and a reserved outdoor space so detainees are not obliged to interact with other detainees – while they are still exposed to calls, taunts and mobile snapshots from neighboring units.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the isolation ward, which is in a isolated area. Actually, conditions are very similar as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be solitary in his unit and accompanied by a prison officer each time he leaves it.

“The goal is to prevent any problems at all, so we have to block him from coming into contact with any inmates,” a prison source commented. “The simplest and most effective approach is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Accommodation Details

Both isolation and VIP rooms are the same to those elsewhere in the jail, averaging approximately 10 sq metres, with window blinds designed to reduce interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will also have the option to the prison store, where he can buy items to make his own meals, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a exercise room and the library. He can pay for a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a monthly and a TV for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

In addition to three allowed visits a each week, he will mainly be by himself – an advantage in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent upgrades is operating at approximately double its intended capacity of 657 detainees. The country's correctional facilities are the third most packed in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his non-guilt, has declared he will be bringing with him a life story of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is condemned to prison but breaks out to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also bringing hearing protection because the jail can be noisy at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is unafraid of serving time in prison and intends to use it to author a book.

Uncertain Duration

It is unclear, however, how long he will actually be housed in the facility: his lawyers have lodged for his premature release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a potential of flight, repeat offenses or influencing testimony to justify his further imprisonment.

France's jurists have proposed he may be freed in less than a month.