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Maybe the nation's most fabled correctional facility, La Santé – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving a five year prison sentence for unlawful collusion to raise political donations from Libya – is the sole surviving prison inside the city of Paris.

Found in the south part of Montparnasse area of the city, it first opened in the year 1867 and hosted of no fewer than 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partly closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison resumed operations half a decade later and holds in excess of 1,100 detainees.

Well-known former prisoners include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the financial trader Jérôme Kerviel, the government official and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the entrepreneur and politician Bernard Tapie, the terrorist from the 1970s Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

Special Treatment for High-Profile Inmates

High-profile or vulnerable prisoners are usually held in the prison's QB4 ward for “individuals at risk” – the often called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, not the typical three-person rooms, and isolated during yard time for safety concerns.

Located on the first floor, the unit has a set of uniform units and a reserved recreation area so prisoners are not forced to mingle with fellow inmates – although they continue to be exposed to shouts, insults and cellphone pictures from neighboring units.

Mainly for such concerns, Sarkozy is expected to be placed in the solitary confinement unit, which is in a isolated area. Actually, the environment are much the same as in QB4: the ex-president will be solitary in his cell and accompanied by a prison officer every time he goes out.

“The objective is to prevent any issues whatsoever, so we must stop him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” an insider stated. “The easiest and most efficient solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy directly to solitary confinement.”

Accommodation Details

Each of the solitary and protected cells are the same to those in other parts in the institution, averaging approximately 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows intended to reduce interaction, a sleeping cot, a writing table, a shower unit, toilet, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.

Sarkozy will receive standard meals but will additionally have access to the prison store, where he can acquire items to cook for himself, as well as to a private outdoor space, a fitness room and the library. He can pay for a cooling unit for €7.50 a month and a television set for fourteen euros fifteen.

Restricted Visits

Apart from three allowed visits a per week, he will mostly be on his own – a luxury in the prison, which notwithstanding its recent renovation is operating at about twice its designed capacity of 657 prisoners. France’s prisons are the third most congested in the EU.

Prison Supplies

Sarkozy, who has consistently protested his innocence, has stated he will be bringing with him a biography of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an wrongly accused individual is condemned to prison but breaks out to take revenge.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, noted he was also bringing noise blockers because prison can be noisy at nighttime, and multiple sweaters, because cells can be cold. Sarkozy has commented he is unafraid of serving time in jail and intends to utilize the time to write a book.

Uncertain Duration

The duration is unknown, however, for how long he will in fact be housed in the facility: his attorneys have submitted for his early release, and an reviewing judge will have to prove a potential of escaping, further crimes or influencing testimony to validate his continued detention.

France's jurists have suggested he could be out in less than a month.