Overview
- Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin met Nicolas Sarkozy at Paris’s La Santé prison on the evening of October 29 for roughly 45 minutes in the presence of the prison director, then spoke with staff about security arrangements.
- Around 28–29 lawyers filed a complaint to the Cour de justice de la République alleging illegal taking of interest, arguing his political ties and authority over prosecutors create a risk to impartiality.
- Senior magistrate Rémy Heitz had warned publicly that such a visit risks undermining the serenity and independence of the judiciary before the appeal phase.
- Darmanin defends the visit as part of his duty to ensure the safety of an inmate with an exceptional status, asserting it does not interfere with judges’ independence.
- Sarkozy, sentenced on September 25 to five years in the Libyan financing case and jailed on October 21, remains in custody under protection by two security officers, with a request for release to be examined in the coming weeks and his appeal pending.