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Sarkozy Begins Serving Five-Year Sentence at Paris’s La Santé Prison

Immediate enforcement overrides his appeal, with an age‑based home‑detention request expected within two months.

Overview

  • The former French president arrived at La Santé on October 21 and was placed in a segregated single cell of roughly 9–12 square meters with no contact with other inmates.
  • He was convicted on September 25 in the Libya affair for participation in a criminal association, and judges ordered exécution provisoire so the term starts despite his appeal.
  • Because he is 70, his lawyers plan to seek detention relief such as electronic monitoring or home confinement, and authorities must rule on the request within about two months.
  • Intake includes fingerprinting, a full search, and issuance of a prisoner ID; he will have a basic cell with shower and toilet, one hour of daily yard time, monitored calls, and up to three family visits per week.
  • The Élysée confirmed President Emmanuel Macron met Sarkozy days before incarceration, the justice minister said he will visit, and the jailing marks a first for a postwar French head of state and an EU former president.