Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy entered Paris’s La Santé prison Tuesday morning, becoming the first former head of state from an EU nation to be incarcerated. Convicted last month of criminal conspiracy for allegedly arranging illegal campaign funding from Libya’s late dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the 70-year-old right-wing icon arrived under police escort after leaving his home with his wife, singer Carla Bruni. Dozens of supporters gathered outside, holding portraits and chanting “Free Nicolas!” while singing La Marseillaise. In a final social media message, Sarkozy declared: “An innocent man is being jailed today. The truth will prevail.”
Sentenced to five years in September for a secret 2005 deal to fund his 2007 election victory, Sarkozy was ordered into immediate custody despite filing an appeal—a rare judicial decision reserved for crimes of “exceptional gravity”. The court found him guilty of conspiracy but acquitted him on charges of corruption, embezzlement, and direct misuse of Libyan funds. He will serve in solitary confinement in a 9-square-meter cell, with one daily walk and three weekly visits allowed. His lawyers have requested provisional release, to be decided within two months.
This marks Sarkozy’s second conviction in recent years. In 2021, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in a separate case and served part of his sentence under house arrest with an electronic bracelet, removed earlier this year. Stripped of the Legion of Honour following that verdict, Sarkozy now carries a biography of Jesus and The Count of Monte Cristo—a novel about wrongful imprisonment and revenge—into his cell.
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Public opinion remains divided. A recent Elabe poll shows 60% of French adults consider the sentence fair, though Sarkozy retains strong backing among conservatives. President Emmanuel Macron hosted him at the Élysée Palace last Friday, defending the meeting as a “human gesture” toward a predecessor. As the prison gates closed, Sarkozy’s fate now rests with the appeals court—and history’s judgment of one of France’s most polarizing leaders.
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