Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first French ex-president to go to jail, as he starts a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he is will occupy a cell roughly measuring 9 sq m (95 sq ft) in the jail's isolation wing.
More than 100 people stood outside the jail, after his son Louis, 28, called on supporters for a show of support. Another son, Pierre, called for a message of love - 'nothing else, please'. Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, was due to arrive at 10:00 (08:00 GMT) at the infamous 19th-Century prison in the Montparnasse district south of the River Seine. He continues to protest his innocence in the highly controversial Libyan money affair.
Sarkozy has said he wants no special treatment at the notorious La Santé prison, although he has been put in the isolation section for his own safety as other inmates are notorious drugs dealers or have been convicted for terror offences. Inside his cell he will have a toilet, shower, desk and small TV. He will be allowed one hour a day for exercise, by himself.
At the end of last week he was received at the Élysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters on Monday 'it was normal that on a human level I should receive one of my predecessors in that context'. In a further measure of official support for the ex-president, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would go to visit him in prison as part of his role in ensuring Sarkozy's safety and the proper functioning of the jail.
'I cannot be insensitive to a man's distress,' he added. Sarkozy gave a series of media interviews ahead of his arrival, stating: 'I'm not afraid of prison. I'll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates.' He continues to deny wrongdoing, asserting that his 2007 campaign was funded with Libyan cash, and is appealing his conviction.
Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he is will occupy a cell roughly measuring 9 sq m (95 sq ft) in the jail's isolation wing.
More than 100 people stood outside the jail, after his son Louis, 28, called on supporters for a show of support. Another son, Pierre, called for a message of love - 'nothing else, please'. Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, was due to arrive at 10:00 (08:00 GMT) at the infamous 19th-Century prison in the Montparnasse district south of the River Seine. He continues to protest his innocence in the highly controversial Libyan money affair.
Sarkozy has said he wants no special treatment at the notorious La Santé prison, although he has been put in the isolation section for his own safety as other inmates are notorious drugs dealers or have been convicted for terror offences. Inside his cell he will have a toilet, shower, desk and small TV. He will be allowed one hour a day for exercise, by himself.
At the end of last week he was received at the Élysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters on Monday 'it was normal that on a human level I should receive one of my predecessors in that context'. In a further measure of official support for the ex-president, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would go to visit him in prison as part of his role in ensuring Sarkozy's safety and the proper functioning of the jail.
'I cannot be insensitive to a man's distress,' he added. Sarkozy gave a series of media interviews ahead of his arrival, stating: 'I'm not afraid of prison. I'll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates.' He continues to deny wrongdoing, asserting that his 2007 campaign was funded with Libyan cash, and is appealing his conviction.
