What Lies Ahead Sarkozy in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Has He Taken?
Maybe the nation's most fabled jail, the La Santé prison – where ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to solicit campaign funds from Libya – is the sole surviving prison inside the French capital's boundaries.
Located in the south part of Montparnasse area of the capital, it opened in the year 1867 and was the scene of at least 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partly shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison reopened five years later and accommodates over 1,100 inmates.
Well-known ex- inmates comprise the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and model agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
Protected Wing for Notable Inmates
Notable or vulnerable detainees are usually accommodated in the prison's QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the often called “premium block” – in solitary cells, not the typical triple-occupancy units, and separated during outdoor activities for safety concerns.
Located on the first floor, the section has 19 identical rooms and a reserved recreation area so prisoners are not obliged to mix with fellow inmates – while they are still vulnerable to calls, jeers and cellphone pictures from nearby cells.
Mainly for this reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a distinct block. Actually, conditions are much the same as in the QB4 ward: the past leader will be alone in his unit and accompanied by a guard every time he exits.
“The objective is to avert any issues at all, so we have to prevent him from encountering fellow detainees,” a source within the facility commented. “The most straightforward and best approach is to send Nicolas Sarkozy straight to isolation.”
Accommodation Details
Each of the solitary and VIP rooms are identical to those elsewhere in the prison, averaging around 10 square meters, with window coverings created to restrict communication, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower, WC, and fixed-line phone with pre-recorded numbers.
Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will additionally have the ability to the canteen, where he can acquire groceries to make his own meals, as well as to a individual exercise yard, a exercise room and the library. He can lease a fridge for €7.50 a month and a television set for 14.15 euros.
Restricted Visits
Besides three permitted visits a each week, he will mainly be on his own – an advantage in the prison, which in spite of its modernization is functioning at approximately twice its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's jails are the third most congested in the European Union.
Prison Supplies
Sarkozy, who has consistently asserted his non-guilt, has declared he will be taking with him a account of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is sentenced to prison but breaks out to seek vengeance.
Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally packing hearing protection because the jail can be noisy at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has said he is unafraid of serving time in prison and aims to make use of the period to compose a publication.
Possible Early Release
It is unclear, however, how long he will in fact be housed in La Santé: his legal team have submitted for his early release, and an appeals judge will must establish a chance of escaping, further crimes or influencing testimony to justify his ongoing incarceration.
French legal experts have indicated he could be out within a month.