Overview
- The former president is due at the Santé prison Tuesday morning following his five‑year sentence with a mandat de dépôt in the Libyan financing case, a first for a French or EU ex‑head of state.
- His lawyers will file an immediate request for release once he is booked; the Paris court of appeal has up to two months to rule, though a faster hearing is expected.
- On appeal he is presumed innocent, and continued detention must be justified solely by narrow criteria such as risk of flight, pressure on witnesses, recidivism, interactions with accomplices, or his own security.
- Prison administration confirms he will be in a single cell within the isolation unit, with strictly segregated movements and solo access to exercise and activities for security and confidentiality.
- Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin says he will visit to check security conditions, a plan criticized by senior magistrates as potentially blurring roles; Macron met Sarkozy on October 17, and his family has called a support gathering before departure.