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Perhaps France’s most fabled jail, the La Santé prison – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five-year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to solicit campaign funds from the Libyan government – is the only remaining prison inside the city of Paris.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the scene of at least 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partly closed for renovation in 2014, the prison resumed operations five years later and houses over 1,100 prisoners.

Well-known former prisoners encompass the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for Prominent Prisoners

Notable or at-risk prisoners are usually accommodated in the jail’s QB4 section for “protected persons” – the so-called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, rather than the typical three-inmate units, and separated during outdoor activities for protection purposes.

Located on the ground floor, the section has 19 identical rooms and a reserved outdoor space so prisoners are not obliged to mix with fellow inmates – although they continue to be subject to calls, insults and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Mostly for this reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a distinct block. Practically, the environment are largely identical as in QB4: the former president will be solitary in his cell and accompanied by a guard each time he leaves it.

“The aim is to avoid any problems whatsoever, so we have to stop him from encountering any inmates,” a prison source commented. “The most straightforward and best solution is to send Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to segregation.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the isolation and protected cells are identical to those in other parts in the institution, roughly around 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows intended to limit interaction, a sleeping cot, a small desk, a shower unit, WC, and landline telephone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will additionally have access to the prison store, where he can purchase food to make his own meals, as well as to a individual exercise yard, a exercise room and the book collection. He can pay for a cooling unit for seven euros fifty a month and a television set for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Besides three authorized meetings a per week, he will mostly be alone – an advantage in the prison, which in spite of its modernization is functioning at about double its planned occupancy of 657 detainees. France’s correctional facilities are the third most congested in the EU bloc.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has consistently protested his innocence, has declared he will be bringing with him a biography of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is sentenced to prison but escapes to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was also packing noise blockers because the jail can be noisy at night, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be chilly. Sarkozy has said he is unafraid of spending time in jail and aims to use it to write a book.

Possible Early Release

It remains uncertain, nevertheless, for how long he will really stay in the prison: his lawyers have already filed for his early release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a risk of escaping, repeat offenses or witness-tampering to validate his continued detention.

France's jurists have indicated he could be out before a month passes.