What to Expect the Former President in the La Santé Facility and What Belongings Did He Bring?
Possibly France’s most fabled jail, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to raise campaign funds from the Libyan government – stands as the only remaining prison within the French capital's boundaries.
Found in the southern Montparnasse area of the city, it opened in the year 1867 and hosted of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially shut down for renovation in 2014, the institution reopened half a decade later and accommodates over 1,100 detainees.
Well-known past prisoners comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
VIP Quarters for Notable Prisoners
Prominent or at-risk prisoners are typically held in the jail’s QB4 section for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP quarters” – in single cells, rather than the usual triple-occupancy units, and kept alone during yard time for security reasons.
Situated on the initial level, the section has nineteen similar units and a private outdoor space so prisoners are not forced to mix with fellow inmates – while they are still subject to calls, insults and smartphone photos from neighboring units.
Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. In reality, the environment are largely identical as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be solitary in his unit and accompanied by a guard whenever he leaves it.
“The objective is to avoid any incidents whatsoever, so we need to block him from encountering other prisoners,” a source within the facility commented. “The easiest and most effective approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”
Accommodation Details
Both isolation and protected units are similar to those elsewhere in the jail, averaging approximately 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows designed to restrict contact, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with pre-recorded numbers.
Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will additionally have the ability to the commissary, where he can purchase items to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary exercise yard, a gym and the library. He can lease a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a per month and a television for €14.15.
Controlled Interactions
Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will mostly be on his own – a privilege in La Santé, which despite its recent renovation is operating at about double its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. France’s correctional facilities are the third most packed in the EU.
Personal Belongings
Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has declared he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also bringing hearing protection because prison can be loud at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of serving time in jail and aims to use it to compose a publication.
Uncertain Duration
The duration is unknown, though, the length of time he will in fact remain in La Santé: his lawyers have lodged for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a risk of flight, further crimes or witness-tampering to warrant his further imprisonment.
French law specialists have proposed he may be freed in less than a month.
