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Possibly France’s most fabled prison, La Santé – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five-year incarceration for criminal conspiracy to solicit political donations from Libya – is the sole surviving prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Located in the southern Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it first opened in 1867 and hosted of a minimum of 40 death penalties, the most recent in 1972. Partly closed for renovation in 2014, the facility reopened five years later and houses more than 1,100 inmates.

Well-known past detainees encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the militant from the seventies Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Prisoners

High-profile or at-risk detainees are usually placed in the jail’s QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the often called “premium block” – in solitary cells, rather than the typical triple-occupancy cells, and kept alone during exercise periods for protection purposes.

Situated on the first floor, the unit has a set of uniform units and a dedicated outdoor space so detainees are not obliged to interact with other prisoners – even though they are still subject to calls, taunts and smartphone photos from adjacent cells.

Mainly for that reason, Sarkozy is set to be housed in the segregated section, which is in a distinct block. Practically, circumstances are largely identical as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be by himself in his cell and escorted by a prison officer whenever he leaves it.

“The goal is to avert any problems at all, so we must prevent him from meeting other prisoners,” an insider revealed. “The easiest and most effective approach is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to solitary confinement.”

Living Quarters

Both isolation and VIP units are identical to those in other parts in the prison, averaging around eleven square meters, with window blinds intended to limit contact, a bed, a small desk, a shower unit, WC, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive regular meals but will also have access to the canteen, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a private outdoor space, a gym and the book collection. He can pay for a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a monthly and a television for 14.15 euros.

Controlled Interactions

In addition to three authorized meetings a week, he will mostly be alone – a luxury in the prison, which in spite of its recent upgrades is functioning at about twice its designed capacity of 657 prisoners. The country's jails are the third most congested in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly protested his innocence, has said he will be taking with him a account of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is condemned to jail but escapes to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was additionally bringing earplugs because the jail can be loud at night, and several sweaters, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is unafraid of spending time in jail and intends to utilize the time to compose a book.

Possible Early Release

The duration is unknown, nevertheless, for how long he will really stay in the prison: his attorneys have submitted for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a potential of absconding, reoffending or interfering with witnesses to warrant his further imprisonment.

French legal experts have proposed he may be freed in less than a month.