As a former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy was behind many doors closed to the ordinary French citizen.
On October 21, when the cold steel at the door of his prison cell will close behind him, he will find himself in a room where few would like to fall.
The former French leader was sentenced in September for a criminal plot to finance his presidential campaign in 2007 with money from Libya in exchange for diplomatic services. He should lie for 5 years behind bars, but it is likely to be started.
Sarkozy will start serving his 5-year sentence on October 21
Sarkozy intends to appeal, but in the meantime it is expected to be placed in a cell or in independent isolation, or in the so -called. “VIP wing” at the La Sante prison complex in Paris, the only prison in the capital of France.
This wing is reserved for prisoners who cannot be placed in one room with other criminals, usually due to concerns about their own safety. These may be politicians, former police officers, members of far -right organizations, or people related to Islamist terrorist groups, CNN reported, citing BFMTV.
Situated against a home for the elderly in a residential neighborhood of the 14th district in Paris, the only thing that states that La Sante is a prison is the sirens of police cars when transporting prisoners from and to the complex.
Famous former prisoners
In the last 150 years, the walls of La Sante have deprived many famous French personalities.
One of the most wanted terrorists in the world in the 1970s and 1980s-Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, known as Carlos Chakal, was detained in La Sante. Another famous criminal who has been sheltered is Jacques Mesrin, a well -known killer and bank robber from the 1970s, whose criminal career has been illustrated in a 2008 movie with Vincent Kassel in the lead role. Mesrin even manages to escape from La Sante.
Sarkozy in court to determine the regime of serving his sentence in the Libya case
Other well -known criminals include Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish army captain, a central figure in the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century, in which he was convicted unfairly for betrayal of anti -Semitism. Similar is the case with Alexander Benala – an assistant and former bodyguard of Emmanuel Macron, sentenced to prison after being filmed to beat protesters from the Yellow Cardigans.
Sarkozy will not even be the first world leader in this prison. Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama, was held there after his extradition from the United States, after the US invasion that took him out of power.
Sarkozy does not hide that he is dissatisfied with the upcoming prison
„If at all costs they want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison. But with his head raised. I am innocent“He said after the sentence, and his voice was boiling with anger.
„This injustice is a scandal“, The former French president continued, with his wife – singer and model Carla Bruni -Sarkozy. She will probably be one of the first former supermodels to cross the prison threshold if he decides to visit him.
Prisoners compare La Sante with a hotel
But behind the tall brick walls, La Sante is not a dungeon.
„La Sante is not bad, as if you are at Ibis Hotel“, Says Marco Mulie, a former prisoner of VIP prison in a 2022 BFMTV documentary. He compares it to a popular chain of budget hotels in Europe.
Built in 1867, with a specific radial layout designed to create the prisoners of the feeling of being under constant surveillance, the prison recently passed a 4-year renovation and modernization, and was opened again in 2019.
If Sarkozy is housed in the VIP wing, it will be provided with one of 18 identical cells, each with a hob, refrigerator, TV, shower and toilet, as well as a fixed telephone line allowing conversations with approved numbers.
French top model and singer Carla Bruni defended her husband Nicolas Sarkozy, sentenced to 5 years in prison
The cells have an area of 9 square meters, which is no more than ordinary cells, although prisoners in the special wing do not usually share the room, especially for security reasons.
However, stay is far from comfortable, say those who have experienced it.
„The problem is the noise“, Says Didier Schuler, a former civil servant and politician detained for several weeks at La Sante, in front of BFMTV in 2022.”At night they wake screams”.
A former police officer, interviewed by television, describes how he was subjected to constant insults by other prisoners when they realized he had entered prison.
It is unlikely that Sarkozy will not attract such attention behind bars. And although he is determined to appeal his sentence, he may seem that freedom is very far from the first night in prison.
„You know when you enter“Says Patrick Balkans, the former mayor of Lavaloa-Perre. He served several months for tax evasion before being exempt for health reasons.” Ho You don’t know when you’ll go out”.
Editor: Ivayla Miteva
