France’s Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy Behind Bars

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made history by becoming the first ex-president of France to go to jail.

He began serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly conspiring to fund his 2007 election campaign with money from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. This is the first time a former French leader has been jailed since Philippe Pétain, who was imprisoned for treason in 1945 after World War II.

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was taken to La Santé prison in Paris on Tuesday morning. The former president, aged 70, still insists he is innocent and has filed an appeal against the sentence. As he was driven to the prison, dozens of supporters gathered outside his Paris home, clapping and chanting his name.

His wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, held his hand as they left their villa in the upscale 16th district. His son Louis had earlier asked supporters to come out and show love, while another son, Pierre, urged for “messages of love, nothing else, please.”

Sarkozy was escorted into the overcrowded 19th-century La Santé prison around 9:40 a.m. local time, under heavy police security. Writing on X (formerly Twitter) before his arrival, he stated:

“I have no doubt. Truth will prevail. But how crushing the price will have been.”
He added that France was “humiliated by a will for revenge,” claiming that “an innocent man” was being locked up.

Sarkozy will stay in a small cell within the prison’s isolation wing for his safety, as other inmates include drug traffickers and people convicted of terrorism. His cell measures between 9 to 11 square metres and includes basic facilities: a toilet, shower, desk, a small stove, and a television, for which he must pay a €14 monthly fee. He is also allowed family visits and phone calls but will spend most of his time in solitary confinement, with only one hour of exercise per day.

A former deputy head of La Santé prison, Flavie Rault, explained that life in isolation can be emotionally difficult.

“You are alone all the time. The only people you interact with are prison staff,” she said. “The social isolation is very hard.”

His lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, said an appeal for his release has been filed, arguing that “nothing justifies his imprisonment.” Sarkozy is expected to remain behind bars for at least three to four weeks while the appeal is considered.

French President Emmanuel Macron met Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace last week before his incarceration. Macron later told reporters that it was natural to meet a former president in such a situation but refused to comment on the court’s decision. Meanwhile, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that he would visit Sarkozy in prison to ensure his safety, saying, “I cannot be insensitive to a man’s distress.”

Since leaving office, Sarkozy has faced several legal troubles. He previously wore an electronic tag after being convicted in another corruption case for trying to bribe a magistrate. He is also awaiting a ruling in the Bygmalion case, related to illegal campaign financing during his 2012 re-election bid.

Despite the challenges, Sarkozy remains defiant. In a recent interview, he said, “I’m not afraid of prison. I’ll keep my head held high, even at the prison gates.”

Although he was cleared of personally receiving Libyan funds, the court found him guilty of criminal association due to his close ties with two aides, Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, who had meetings with Gaddafi’s officials in 2005.

Sarkozy said he would take two books with him into prison, a life of Jesus by Jean-Christian Petitfils and the Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s classic story of a man wrongly imprisoned who escapes to wreak vengeance on his prosecutors.

Source: BBC