French Ex-President Sarkozy Arrives At Prison For Five-Year Sentence For Criminal Conspiracy

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy entered Paris’ La Santé prison on Tuesday morning, convicted of criminal conspiracy for allegedly accepting illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi during his 2007 election campaign. He's now the first French leader to serve jail time since World War Two.

The 70-year-old was handed a five-year sentence, though he is currently appealing the decision. However, he will still serve his five-year sentence for now due to the “exceptional seriousness of the facts”. As he left his villa in Paris, he was met with chants of “Nicolas! Nicolas!” from more than 100 supporters. His children and grandchildren were also there, showing their support.

Sarkozy posted a defiant message on social media as he was driven to the prison under heavy police escort: “I have no doubt. Truth will prevail. But how crushing the price will have been.” He continued, “With unwavering strength I tell [the French people] it is not a former president they are locking up this morning – it is an innocent man.”

Sarkozy will be held at La Santé prison, a notorious 19th-century facility in southern Paris, in a 9-square-meter cell, where he will be kept in isolation for his own protection. His cell is equipped with basic amenities: a toilet, shower, desk, and small TV. He will be allowed one hour of solo exercise per day. The prison's "VIP wing," where he is likely being held, also houses other inmates deemed at risk in the general population—like former police officers or those linked to terrorism.

Despite the conviction, Sarkozy has maintained his innocence from the beginning. Though he was cleared of directly pocketing Libyan money, the court found him guilty of orchestrating a secret funding scheme through close aides Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant. Both men had meetings with Gaddafi’s intelligence chief in 2005, arranged by intermediary Ziad Takieddine—who died in Lebanon shortly before Sarkozy’s conviction.

Before entering prison, Sarkozy told La Tribune, “I’m not afraid of prison. I’ll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates.” He brought with him two books—one about the life of Jesus, and Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, a tale of wrongful imprisonment and ultimate revenge.

The former president has vowed to continue fighting what he describes as a “judicial scandal.” But for now, he's trading the Élysée for a prison cell, becoming a symbol of either accountability—or injustice—depending on who you ask.