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Perhaps the nation's most notorious jail, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to raise campaign funds from Libya – stands as the sole surviving prison within the French capital's boundaries.

Situated in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the capital, it first opened in the year 1867 and was the site of a minimum of 40 capital punishments, the last in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and accommodates in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Well-known past inmates include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and collaborator with the Nazis Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for Prominent Inmates

Prominent or vulnerable prisoners are usually held in the jail’s QB4 section for “protected persons” – the often called “VIP section” – in single cells, not the standard three-person units, and separated during exercise periods for protection purposes.

Positioned on the ground floor, the unit has 19 identical rooms and a private outdoor space so prisoners are not forced to mix with other prisoners – even though they continue to be vulnerable to shouts, taunts and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mostly for that reason, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the segregated section, which is in a separate wing. Practically, conditions are largely identical as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be by himself in his room and supervised by a prison officer every time he exits.

“The aim is to avert any issues at all, so we need to prevent him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a prison source revealed. “The simplest and most efficient solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy directly to segregation.”

Living Quarters

Each of the solitary and VIP units are the same to those in other parts in the institution, measuring about 10 square meters, with window blinds intended to reduce communication, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower, lavatory, and fixed-line phone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive regular meals but will additionally have the option to the canteen, where he can purchase items to cook for himself, as well as to a small solitary exercise yard, a gym and the prison library. He can pay for a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a month and a television set for €14.15.

Limited Social Contact

Apart from three authorized meetings a per week, he will primarily be by himself – an advantage in the facility, which despite its recent renovation is functioning at roughly twice its planned occupancy of 657 prisoners. France’s jails are the third most congested in the EU bloc.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly asserted his non-guilt, has declared he will be bringing with him a life story of Jesus Christ and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is condemned to jail but breaks out to seek vengeance.

Sarkozy’s legal counsel, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was also bringing hearing protection because the jail can be noisy at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because rooms can be cool. Sarkozy has stated he is unafraid of spending time in prison and intends to use it to write a book.

Release Prospects

It remains uncertain, however, for how long he will really be housed in the facility: his attorneys have submitted for his premature release, and an appeals judge will have to prove a potential of flight, reoffending or influencing testimony to validate his ongoing incarceration.

France's law specialists have proposed he may be freed within a month.