Overview
- He arrived at La Santé prison on Tuesday, leaving his Paris home with Carla Bruni as supporters cheered, and began serving the court-ordered term.
- A Paris court in September found him guilty of criminal conspiracy tied to efforts by close aides to seek Libyan money for his 2007 campaign, while acquitting him of personally receiving or using funds.
- His lawyers have filed an immediate request for release; the appeals court can take up to two months to decide and could authorize supervised release or home detention.
- Authorities expect him to be held in solitary or a protected unit in a single cell, with restricted communications, limited family visits and controlled time outdoors.
- He is the first former French leader in modern times to be jailed, a decision that has drawn strong reactions, even as polling shows majority support for enforcing the sentence pending appeal.