Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will report to prison on Tuesday after a Paris court upheld a five-year sentence for his role in an alleged criminal conspiracy to secure campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, became the first postwar French head of state and the first former EU leader to serve time in prison following a criminal conviction. The ruling marks a major political and judicial milestone in France’s modern history.
Speaking to La Tribune de Dimanche, Sarkozy said he was prepared for incarceration. “I’m not afraid of prison.
I’ll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates,” he said. The 70-year-old former president is due to report to La Santé prison in southern Paris early Tuesday.
He emphasised that he had asked for “no privileges” during his time in custody, saying he intends to serve the sentence with dignity.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Sarkozy said he had packed family photographs and three books for his first week in prison. The Count of Monte Cristo and two volumes of Jean-Christian Petitfils’s biography of Jesus.
For security reasons, he is expected to be placed in solitary confinement in a 9-square-metre cell. He will be denied access to a mobile phone but allowed a small television set. A secure phone line will connect him to his lawyers and family. He is entitled to two family visits per week.
Sarkozy also revealed he was advised to bring earplugs. “At night you hear lots of noise, shouting, screaming,” he said, referring to the notorious soundscape of La Santé.
The former president will be allowed one hour of daily outdoor exercise in a secure courtyard, under the watch of three prison guards. The area’s open sky is covered by wire mesh to prevent escapes or external contact.
Prosecutors told the court that Sarkozy entered into what they called a “Faustian pact of corruption” with one of the world’s most feared dictators to gain millions in illegal funding for his 2007 campaign.
While Sarkozy was cleared of direct corruption, misuse of Libyan funds, and illegal campaign financing, he was found guilty of criminal conspiracy. He has consistently denied all wrongdoing.
“I was never part of any conspiracy,” Sarkozy told the court during his trial, maintaining that the case was politically motivated. He has filed an appeal, which is expected to be heard within six months.
However, the appeal does not suspend his prison sentence. Under French law, he must begin serving time immediately while legal proceedings continue.
Sarkozy’s legal team plans to file for release as soon as he reports to prison, requesting judicial supervision or home arrest with an ankle tag. Judges will have two months to rule on the request.
If approved, Sarkozy could serve the rest of his term under house arrest.
However, prosecutors may oppose this if they believe detention is necessary to prevent tampering with evidence or witness intimidation.
This trial is the most serious of three major corruption cases Sarkozy has faced. The former president has already been convicted twice before and was stripped of France’s highest honour, the Légion d’Honneur.
Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offences as being of “exceptional gravity” and “likely to undermine public confidence in political institutions.”
The case stems from allegations that Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign secretly received millions of euros from Gaddafi’s government, claims first raised after the Libyan leader’s fall in 2011, as the Guardian reports
Sarkozy has previously served a year under electronic monitoring after being convicted of influence peddling and attempting to bribe a magistrate.
He wore an ankle tag for three months before being granted conditional release.
The current conviction, however, marks the first time a former French president will physically serve time in prison.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently condemned threats made against Judge Gavarino following her verdict, calling them “unacceptable attacks on the judiciary.”
Legal experts say the case has shaken France’s political establishment and could reshape public perceptions of accountability in high office.
For many observers, Sarkozy’s fall from grace — from the Élysée Palace to a prison cell — symbolises a new era in French politics where even the most powerful are no longer immune from the rule of law.
M10News International Desk | Contact: international@m10news.com
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