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Perhaps the nation's most notorious jail, the La Santé prison – in which former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year incarceration for illegal conspiracy to raise political donations from Libya – stands as the only remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.

Found in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially shut down for refurbishment in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and holds over 1,100 detainees.

Renowned ex- prisoners encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Notable Prisoners

Notable or vulnerable detainees are generally accommodated in the jail’s QB4 ward for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, rather than the usual triple-occupancy cells, and separated during exercise periods for security reasons.

Situated on the first floor, the unit has 19 identical cells and a reserved exercise yard so inmates are not obliged to interact with other detainees – while they remain subject to shouts, taunts and smartphone photos from nearby cells.

Mostly for this reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. In reality, conditions are very similar as in QB4: the former president will be solitary in his cell and accompanied by a prison officer each time he leaves it.

“The aim is to avoid any problems whatsoever, so we have to block him from coming into contact with other prisoners,” an insider commented. “The easiest and most efficient solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to segregation.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the isolation and protected units are similar to those elsewhere in the prison, roughly approximately 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows intended to reduce communication, a bed, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy is provided with regular meals but will additionally have the option to the prison store, where he can purchase items to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary recreation area, a fitness room and the library. He can lease a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a month and a television set for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

Apart from three authorized meetings a each week, he will mainly be on his own – an advantage in the facility, which despite its recent renovation is running at about double its intended capacity of 657 inmates. France’s jails are the third most packed in the EU bloc.

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has stated he will be bringing with him a biography of Jesus and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also packing earplugs because prison can be noisy at nighttime, and a few jumpers, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has commented he is not scared of serving time in prison and intends to make use of the period to author a publication.

Possible Early Release

The duration is unknown, however, how long he will really be housed in La Santé: his attorneys have submitted for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will have to prove a chance of flight, repeat offenses or influencing testimony to warrant his continued detention.

French legal experts have proposed he could be out before a month passes.