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Maybe France’s most legendary correctional facility, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year jail term for unlawful collusion to solicit election financing from Libya – is the sole surviving prison within the city of Paris.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse area of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and was the scene of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the final one in 1972. Partly closed for upgrades in 2014, the prison resumed operations five years later and holds more than 1,100 prisoners.

Well-known past prisoners encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and political figure Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for High-Profile Prisoners

High-profile or endangered inmates are typically placed in the prison's QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the dubbed “premium block” – in solitary cells, not the typical triple-occupancy rooms, and separated during exercise periods for security reasons.

Situated on the initial level, the unit has 19 identical units and a reserved outdoor space so prisoners are not required to mix with other detainees – although they continue to be exposed to shouts, taunts and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.

Primarily for such concerns, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the isolation ward, which is in a isolated area. In reality, circumstances are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be solitary in his unit and escorted by a guard each time he goes out.

“The goal is to avert any incidents whatsoever, so we must stop him from coming into contact with any inmates,” a source within the facility commented. “The simplest and most efficient method is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to segregation.”

Living Quarters

Both solitary and protected units are similar to those in other parts in the institution, measuring about eleven square meters, with coverings on windows created to reduce communication, a bed, a small desk, a shower, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will be served standard meals but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can buy items to make his own meals, as well as to a private outdoor space, a gym and the library. He can pay for a fridge for seven euros fifty a monthly and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Besides three permitted visits a per week, he will mainly be by himself – an advantage in La Santé, which in spite of its recent upgrades is functioning at approximately twice its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. France’s jails are the third most overcrowded in the EU bloc.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has consistently asserted his innocence, has declared he will be carrying with him a biography of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to prison but flees to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also bringing earplugs because the facility can be disruptive at nighttime, and several sweaters, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of spending time in prison and plans to make use of the period to author a book.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, however, how long he will really stay in the prison: his lawyers have submitted for his premature release, and an reviewing judge will must establish a chance of escaping, repeat offenses or influencing testimony to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French law specialists have suggested he may be freed in less than a month.