Nicolas Sarkozy is the first French president to be sent to prison since World War II. The 70-year-old is beginning a five-year sentence having been convicted of accepting cash from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to help finance his 2007 election campaign.
Over 100 of his supporters waved and called out his name as Sarkozy departed his residence in an upscale Paris suburb. He walked hand in hand with his wife, singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, before entering a vehicle. He arrived at the old prison in south Paris at 9:40 a.m. while police cordoned off surrounding streets.
Sarkozy, the president between 2007 and 2012, denies the charges and has appealed his conviction. In a message on social media before entering prison, he declared that truth would triumph eventually. He added that France was imprisoning an innocent man, not an ex-president. He said he was sorry for France being “humiliated by a will for revenge.”
Living Alone in a Small Prison Cell
Sarkozy will reside in the isolation wing of La Santé prison for his own protection. The prison is overcrowded and accommodates hardened criminals such as drug peddlers and terrorists. His cell is said to be on the top floor and is approximately 9 to 11 square meters.
The tiny cell contains a toilet, a shower, a desk, a small cooking plate and a tiny TV. He has to pay 14 euros a month for the TV. He may have a tiny fridge as well. Sarkozy can also have his family visit him and phone them and send them letters.
But he is essentially in solitary confinement. He receives only an hour a day for exercise, which he has to do alone in a special courtyard. He will never encounter other inmates for security purposes. One ex-prison official described conditions in the isolation wing as “pretty hard” because inmates spend all their time alone with only contact with prison personnel.
Cases and Alligations
This is not Sarkozy’s first legal issue. He has had several criminal cases against him since resigning in 2012. Last December, he was found guilty in another case for attempting to bribe a judge for confidential information. He was required to wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle for months.
In a month’s time, France’s Supreme Court is to rule on his appeal in another case against illicit campaign financing known as the Bygmalion affair. In that case, he also risks a jail sentence of six months.
In the case of Libya, Sarkozy was acquitted of receiving the money personally. But he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy with two of his close aides who had met Gaddafi’s intelligence chief in 2005. They were facilitated in their meetings by a middleman who passed away in Lebanon just before Sarkozy was found guilty.
Support From the Current President
Last week, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Sarkozy to the presidential palace. Macron informed journalists that it was natural on a human level to sit down with a former president in this circumstance. He averred that it was not his role to denounce court rulings but grasped why a majority of Frenchmen would desire to comment on seeing a president behind bars.
France’s Justice Minister promised to visit Sarkozy in prison to ensure the former president is safe and the prison is operating well. According to the minister, he could not ignore the distress of a man.
Sarkozy informed newspapers before going to prison that he was not scared and would hold his head high. His lawyer requested his release the moment he went into jail, stating nothing warranted him to remain locked up. The lawyer stated Sarkozy would be in for a minimum of three weeks or a month.
Sarkozy added that he would carry two bo op loks with him to jail – a biography about Jesus and The Count of Monte Cristo, an old tale of a wrongly accused man who breaks out of prison to exact revenge on his oppressors.
FAQs
- Why is Sarkozy headed to prison?
He was found guilty of conspiring to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libyan ex-dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
- How long will Sarkozy remain in prison?
He was sentenced to five years but appealed, so he could remain for at least three weeks to a month until the appeal is heard.
- What is the condition of his prison cell?
He is single in a cramped cell with minimal furnishings, has one hour of exercise a day, and does not come into contact with other inmates.
- Is this Sarkozy’s only legal case?
No, he has faced several criminal cases since 2012 and has another sentencing decision coming next month in a different case.
- When was the last time a French president went to jail?
The last time was in 1945 when Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason after World War Two for collaborating with the Nazis.
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