Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of conspiring to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. His imprisonment marks the first time a French ex-president has been jailed since World War II leader Philippe Pétain in 1945.
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, arrived under heavy security at La Santé Prison in Paris on Tuesday, where he was placed in a 9-square-metre isolation cell. The 70-year-old, who maintains his innocence, wrote on social media before entering custody:
“I have no doubt. Truth will prevail. But how crushing the price will have been.”
He added that while he did not seek pity, he felt “deep sorrow for a France humiliated by a will for revenge.”
Crowds gathered outside his Paris residence in solidarity following a call from his sons, Louis and Pierre Sarkozy, who urged supporters to respond with “a message of love.” Despite his prominence, Sarkozy has declined special privileges in prison, though authorities placed him in isolation for security reasons.
His cell is equipped with a bed, desk, toilet, shower, and small television. He is allowed one hour of daily outdoor exercise. Speaking earlier to La Tribune, Sarkozy said he was “not afraid of prison” and would “keep [his] head held high.”
The conviction stems from allegations that millions of euros in illicit Libyan funds were funnelled into his 2007 campaign through intermediaries linked to Gaddafi’s regime. Although cleared of directly receiving the money, Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal association alongside close allies Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, who allegedly met Gaddafi’s intelligence chief in 2005.
Despite appealing the verdict which preserves his presumption of innocence the court ordered him to begin serving his sentence immediately, citing “the exceptional seriousness of the facts.”
Before entering prison, Sarkozy met with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. Macron later described the meeting as “normal on a human level.” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin also pledged to visit Sarkozy to “ensure his safety and the proper functioning of the facility.”
Sarkozy took two books with him: a biography of Jesus and The Count of Monte Cristo, a novel about wrongful imprisonment a symbolic reflection of his vow to clear his name.
