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Possibly the nation's most notorious prison, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to obtain campaign funds from Libya – is the sole surviving prison within the city of Paris.

Located in the southern Montparnasse area of the city, it was inaugurated in 1867 and hosted of a minimum of 40 death penalties, the most recent in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison reopened half a decade later and houses more than 1,100 detainees.

Well-known former detainees encompass the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Prisoners

Prominent or vulnerable inmates are generally placed in the prison's QB4 section for “individuals at risk” – the so-called “premium block” – in single cells, not the usual three-person cells, and separated during exercise periods for security reasons.

Located on the initial level, the section has nineteen similar rooms and a private recreation area so prisoners are not forced to mix with fellow inmates – even though they remain subject to shouts, taunts and smartphone photos from nearby cells.

Mainly for this reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a isolated area. Practically, circumstances are much the same as in the QB4 ward: the former president will be solitary in his room and escorted by a corrections officer every time he leaves it.

“The objective is to prevent any incidents at all, so we have to stop him from meeting other prisoners,” a source within the facility revealed. “The simplest and best method is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to solitary confinement.”

Living Quarters

Both solitary and protected cells are similar to those in other parts in the jail, roughly about eleven square meters, with coverings on windows intended to restrict interaction, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, WC, and fixed-line phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with standard meals but will also have the ability to the canteen, where he can buy items to cook for himself, as well as to a private exercise yard, a exercise room and the prison library. He can rent a fridge for €7.50 a per month and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.

Controlled Interactions

Besides three permitted visits a per week, he will mainly be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which despite its modernization is running at about twice its intended capacity of 657 prisoners. The country's prisons are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his non-guilt, has declared he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to jail but flees to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was additionally packing earplugs because the jail can be disruptive at nighttime, and several sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is unafraid of serving time in prison and aims to utilize the time to author a manuscript.

Possible Early Release

It is unclear, though, how long he will in fact remain in the facility: his lawyers have lodged for his early release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a chance of absconding, repeat offenses or interfering with witnesses to validate his further imprisonment.

French jurists have indicated he might be released before a month passes.