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Perhaps the nation's most legendary jail, La Santé – where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year incarceration for criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign funds from Libya – remains the only remaining prison inside the Paris city limits.

Located in the south part of Montparnasse neighborhood of the city, it opened in the year 1867 and was the site of no fewer than 40 executions, the most recent in 1972. Partly shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison resumed operations half a decade later and holds in excess of 1,100 prisoners.

Famous ex- prisoners include the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and political figure Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Protected Wing for High-Profile Inmates

Notable or at-risk inmates are usually held in the prison's QB4 unit for “individuals at risk” – the so-called “VIP quarters” – in individual cells, not the typical three-inmate units, and kept alone during exercise periods for protection purposes.

Located on the initial level, the unit has nineteen similar rooms and a reserved recreation area so inmates are not forced to mingle with fellow inmates – even though they remain vulnerable to whistles, insults and smartphone photos from nearby cells.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. In reality, the environment are much the same as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be solitary in his room and supervised by a prison officer every time he exits.

“The aim is to prevent any problems whatsoever, so we need to prevent him from coming into contact with other prisoners,” a source within the facility revealed. “The simplest and best approach is to send Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to solitary confinement.”

Cell Conditions

Each of the isolation and protected units are similar to those in other parts in the institution, averaging approximately 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows designed to reduce interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, WC, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.

Sarkozy will receive regular meals but will additionally have the ability to the canteen, where he can acquire items to prepare himself, as well as to a small solitary outdoor space, a fitness room and the book collection. He can rent a fridge for 7.50 euros a per month and a television set for 14.15 euros.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three authorized meetings a week, he will primarily be by himself – a luxury in La Santé, which notwithstanding its recent upgrades is functioning at roughly double its planned occupancy of 657 inmates. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has consistently asserted his innocence, has declared he will be taking with him a account of Jesus Christ and a version of The Count of Monte Cristo, by the author Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to prison but escapes to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally packing noise blockers because the jail can be disruptive at night, and several sweaters, because units can be cool. Sarkozy has stated he is not scared of being in prison and aims to utilize the time to write a manuscript.

Release Prospects

It is unclear, though, how long he will actually be housed in La Santé: his legal team have lodged for his premature release, and an judge on appeal will must establish a potential of absconding, further crimes or witness-tampering to justify his ongoing incarceration.

French law specialists have indicated he may be freed in less than a month.