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Possibly France’s most fabled jail, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year jail term for illegal conspiracy to obtain campaign funds from the Libyan government – is the sole surviving prison within the city of Paris.

Found in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and was the scene of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially shut down for renovation in 2014, the facility reopened five years later and holds more than 1,100 inmates.

Famous former prisoners comprise 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.

VIP Quarters for Notable Prisoners

High-profile or endangered prisoners are generally held in the jail’s QB4 section for “protected persons” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, rather than the usual three-person cells, and kept alone during yard time for protection purposes.

Situated on the initial level, the section has nineteen similar units and a private exercise yard so detainees are not required to mingle with other detainees – although they remain vulnerable to whistles, jeers and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a separate wing. Practically, conditions are very similar as in the protected unit: the past leader will be by himself in his room and supervised by a prison officer every time he leaves it.

“The goal is to avoid any issues at all, so we have to prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a source within the facility stated. “The easiest and most effective approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Both solitary and VIP rooms are similar to those in other parts in the jail, measuring about eleven square meters, with window blinds created to reduce communication, a bed, a writing table, a shower unit, toilet, and landline telephone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with typical prison food but will additionally have access to the prison store, where he can buy food to make his own meals, as well as to a private outdoor space, a gym and the prison library. He can rent a cooling unit for seven euros fifty a month and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.

Controlled Interactions

In addition to three allowed visits a week, he will mainly be alone – a privilege in the facility, which despite its modernization is operating at roughly twice its planned occupancy of 657 detainees. France’s prisons are the third most packed in the EU.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, has declared he will be carrying with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also packing earplugs because the facility can be noisy at night, and several sweaters, because units can be chilly. Sarkozy has said he is fearless of spending time in jail and plans to make use of the period to author a book.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, though, how long he will in fact remain in the facility: his attorneys have lodged for his early release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a chance of escaping, reoffending or influencing testimony to validate his ongoing incarceration.

French legal experts have proposed he may be freed before a month passes.