Overview
- Two police bodyguards occupied a neighboring cell during Nicolas Sarkozy’s first night in the Paris La Santé prison, a measure Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said preserves a legal right to personal protection.
- The prison staff union condemned the arrangement as unprecedented and undermining their work, with its leader saying he had never seen such a setup in 25 years.
- Prison protocols for Sarkozy include no contact with other inmates, meals served by staff, one hour daily in a screened yard, and separate routing for family visits.
- A new poll reported that roughly three in four French people oppose any special treatment for Sarkozy in custody, including a majority of voters from The Republicans who favor standard handling.
- Sarkozy is serving a five‑year sentence ordered in September over corruption and illegal campaign financing linked to alleged Libyan funds, as he maintains his innocence and his lawyers seek early conditional release they say could come in about four weeks.