What to Expect Sarkozy in the La Santé Facility and What Personal Items Did He Bring?
Possibly the nation's most notorious correctional facility, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year jail term for unlawful collusion to obtain political donations from Libya – stands as the sole surviving prison inside the Paris city limits.
Located in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it opened in the year 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 executions, the final one in 1972. Partly shut down for renovation in 2014, the prison reopened half a decade later and holds over 1,100 detainees.
Renowned past prisoners include the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the businessman and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
VIP Quarters for Notable Prisoners
Notable or at-risk inmates are generally placed in the jail’s QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the so-called “VIP quarters” – in solitary cells, rather than the typical three-inmate units, and isolated during outdoor activities for security reasons.
Situated on the ground floor, the unit has a set of uniform rooms and a private outdoor space so inmates are not forced to mix with fellow inmates – while they remain subject to shouts, taunts and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells.
Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the segregated section, which is in a isolated area. Actually, conditions are much the same as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be by himself in his room and accompanied by a corrections officer whenever he goes out.
“The aim is to prevent any issues whatsoever, so we need to prevent him from encountering any inmates,” an insider revealed. “The easiest and most effective approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”
Cell Conditions
Each of the isolation and protected cells are identical to those in other parts in the prison, roughly about 10 square meters, with window coverings intended to limit communication, a bed, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.
Sarkozy will receive typical prison food but will additionally have access to the canteen, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a fitness room and the library. He can lease a fridge for seven euros fifty a per month and a TV for €14.15.
Controlled Interactions
In addition to three authorized meetings a per week, he will mainly be alone – a luxury in the facility, which in spite of its recent renovation is functioning at roughly double its intended capacity of 657 prisoners. The country's correctional facilities are the third most packed in the EU bloc.
Items Brought
Sarkozy, who has repeatedly maintained his non-guilt, has declared he will be carrying 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 sentenced to jail but breaks out to get retribution.
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was additionally taking hearing protection because prison can be loud at nighttime, and several sweaters, because units can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is fearless of spending time in prison and intends to use it to author a publication.
Uncertain Duration
The duration is unknown, however, the length of time he will really stay in the facility: his legal team have already filed for his early release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a chance of absconding, reoffending or influencing testimony to validate his ongoing incarceration.
French law specialists have suggested he might be released in less than a month.
