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Possibly the nation's most legendary correctional facility, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year prison sentence for illegal conspiracy to solicit election financing from the Libyan government – is the only remaining prison within the Paris city limits.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it opened in 1867 and was the scene of at least 40 executions, the most recent in 1972. Partially closed for renovation in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and accommodates in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Renowned past prisoners include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Prominent Prisoners

Notable or endangered inmates are usually accommodated in the jail’s QB4 unit for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “premium block” – in single cells, rather than the usual three-inmate cells, and separated during yard time for security reasons.

Situated on the ground floor, the ward has a set of uniform units and a reserved outdoor space so prisoners are not required to interact with other detainees – while they remain exposed to whistles, taunts and smartphone photos from neighboring units.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. In reality, the environment are much the same as in the protected unit: the former president will be by himself in his room and accompanied by a prison officer whenever he leaves it.

“The aim is to avert any incidents at all, so we need to block him from encountering other prisoners,” a source within the facility stated. “The most straightforward and most effective approach is to place Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the isolation and protected units are the same to those in other parts in the institution, roughly approximately eleven square meters, with window blinds designed to reduce contact, a bed, a writing table, a shower unit, toilet, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will receive typical prison food but will additionally have access to the commissary, where he can buy food to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary outdoor space, a fitness room and the prison library. He can pay for a cooling unit for 7.50 euros a month and a TV for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

In addition to three permitted visits a each week, he will mainly be by himself – a privilege in La Santé, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is running at approximately double its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the EU bloc.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has consistently maintained his innocence, has said he will be bringing with him a account of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is given a sentence to prison but breaks out to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also bringing hearing protection because the facility can be noisy at during the night, and a few jumpers, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has said he is not scared of being in jail and aims to use it to write a manuscript.

Uncertain Duration

It is unclear, nevertheless, for how long he will really stay in the prison: his legal team have lodged for his conditional release, and an reviewing judge will have to prove a potential of escaping, reoffending or influencing testimony to justify his continued detention.

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