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Perhaps the nation's most legendary jail, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has started a five year incarceration for unlawful collusion to obtain election financing from Libya – is the last remaining prison within the city of Paris.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse area of the city, it first opened in 1867 and was the scene of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partly closed for refurbishment in 2014, the facility resumed operations five years later and holds more than 1,100 prisoners.

Famous past detainees comprise poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Prisoners

High-profile or vulnerable detainees are usually accommodated in the prison's QB4 section for “vulnerable people” – the dubbed “VIP quarters” – in single cells, not the usual three-inmate rooms, and kept alone during yard time for protection purposes.

Located on the initial level, the unit has a set of uniform cells and a private recreation area so inmates are not forced to interact with other detainees – even though they continue to be exposed to whistles, insults and mobile snapshots from nearby cells.

Mostly for such concerns, 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 protected unit: the ex-president will be solitary in his room and escorted by a guard whenever he goes out.

“The objective is to avoid any issues at all, so we need to stop him from meeting other prisoners,” a source within the facility stated. “The simplest and most effective solution is to place Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to isolation.”

Accommodation Details

Both isolation and VIP cells are the same to those in other parts in the prison, roughly around 10 sq metres, with window blinds designed to restrict interaction, a bed, a small desk, a shower unit, WC, and fixed-line phone with pre-set numbers.

Sarkozy will be served standard meals but will also have access to the prison store, where he can buy food to make his own meals, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a fitness room and the library. He can rent a cooling unit for seven euros fifty a monthly and a television for fourteen euros fifteen.

Limited Social Contact

Apart from three authorized meetings a week, he will mainly be on his own – a privilege in the prison, which despite its recent upgrades is running at about twice its intended capacity of 657 inmates. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the EU.

Items Brought

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly asserted his non-guilt, has said he will be carrying with him a account of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is sentenced to prison but escapes to get retribution.

Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally bringing hearing protection because the facility can be noisy at during the night, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of spending time in prison and intends to use it to compose a publication.

Uncertain Duration

It remains uncertain, however, for how long he will in fact stay in La Santé: his lawyers have submitted for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will need to demonstrate a chance of escaping, reoffending or interfering with witnesses to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French jurists have suggested he may be freed before a month passes.