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Perhaps France’s most notorious correctional facility, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to solicit election financing from Libya – stands as the sole surviving prison within the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the southern Montparnasse district of the city, it was inaugurated in 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the final one in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and houses more than 1,100 inmates.

Renowned ex- prisoners include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

VIP Quarters for High-Profile Inmates

High-profile or endangered detainees are typically placed in the prison's QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the dubbed “VIP quarters” – in single cells, not the usual three-person cells, and isolated during exercise periods for safety concerns.

Situated on the first floor, the section has nineteen similar units and a reserved outdoor space so inmates are not forced to mix with other prisoners – while they continue to be subject to shouts, taunts and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Primarily for this reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. In reality, circumstances are very similar as in QB4: the ex-president will be alone in his unit and supervised by a prison officer each time he exits.

“The objective is to avoid any incidents at all, so we have to prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a source within the facility commented. “The most straightforward and most effective approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the solitary and protected units are similar to those in other parts in the prison, roughly about eleven square meters, with coverings on windows designed to restrict contact, a sleeping cot, a compact desk, a shower, toilet, and landline telephone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will be served regular meals but will also have the option to the canteen, where he can buy items to make his own meals, as well as to a small solitary outdoor space, a exercise room and the book collection. He can pay for a fridge for 7.50 euros a month and a TV for €14.15.

Restricted Visits

Besides three authorized meetings a week, he will mainly be by himself – an advantage in the prison, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is running at roughly double its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. The country's correctional facilities are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, has stated he will be carrying with him a account of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to prison but flees to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also packing hearing protection because prison can be disruptive at during the night, and a few jumpers, because rooms can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of being in jail and intends to make use of the period to compose a book.

Possible Early Release

It remains uncertain, nevertheless, how long he will really stay in the prison: his legal team have submitted for his conditional release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a potential of flight, repeat offenses or interfering with witnesses to warrant his continued detention.

French legal experts have proposed he could be out in less than a month.