🔗 Share this article What Awaits the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Has He Taken? Perhaps France’s most notorious jail, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to raise campaign funds from the Libyan government – remains the only remaining prison within the Paris city limits. Situated in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it first opened in 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partially shut down for renovation in 2014, the facility reopened five years later and houses in excess of 1,100 detainees. Famous former detainees comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel. VIP Quarters for Prominent Prisoners Prominent or endangered prisoners are generally held in the prison's QB4 section for “vulnerable people” – the often called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, rather than the standard three-inmate units, and isolated during outdoor activities for security reasons. Located on the initial level, the ward has 19 identical units and a private exercise yard so inmates are not required to interact with fellow inmates – while they continue to be exposed to shouts, taunts and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells. Primarily for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a distinct block. Actually, the environment are very similar as in the protected unit: the past leader will be by himself in his room and accompanied by a prison officer whenever he goes out. “The goal is to avert any problems whatsoever, so we have to block him from meeting other prisoners,” an insider stated. “The simplest and best approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.” Accommodation Details Each of the solitary and protected cells are the same to those in other parts in the jail, measuring approximately 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows created to reduce interaction, a bed, a writing table, a shower, WC, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only. Sarkozy will be served standard meals but will additionally have access to the prison store, where he can buy items to cook for himself, as well as to a individual recreation area, a exercise room and the book collection. He can lease a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a monthly and a television set for fourteen euros fifteen. Controlled Interactions Apart from three authorized meetings a per week, he will mostly be by himself – a privilege in the facility, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is functioning at roughly twice its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. The country's correctional facilities are the third most packed in the EU bloc. Prison Supplies Sarkozy, who has consistently asserted his non-guilt, has said he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus Christ and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is condemned to jail but flees to take revenge. Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also taking hearing protection because the facility can be noisy at night, and a few jumpers, because cells can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is not scared of being in prison and intends to use it to author a manuscript. Possible Early Release The duration is unknown, nevertheless, the length of time he will in fact remain in La Santé: his lawyers have already filed for his premature release, and an appeals judge will need to demonstrate a potential of absconding, reoffending or witness-tampering to justify his continued detention. France's jurists have suggested he could be out in less than a month.