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Sarkozy becomes the first former French president to be imprisoned
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is scheduled to begin serving a five-year prison sentence today, Tuesday, at La Santé Prison in Paris, after being convicted of conspiring to obtain funds from Libya to finance his 2007 election campaign. This marks a historic event, as he becomes the first former French leader to face imprisonment since World War II.
Sarkozy, who belongs to the conservative party, served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012. He is now the first former French president to be imprisoned since Marshal Philippe Pétain, who collaborated with the Nazis during the German occupation.
This conviction comes after years of lengthy legal battles, which concluded that his campaign received millions of euros in cash from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later overthrown during the Arab Spring. Although Sarkozy was convicted of conspiracy with close aides, he was acquitted of directly accepting or using the money for personal purposes.
Sarkozy has consistently denied any misconduct, emphasizing that the case is politically motivated and describing the rulings as an attempt to humiliate him. With the appeal court’s decision, Paris's court unexpectedly ordered the immediate execution of the sentence without waiting for the appeal’s outcome, citing the “serious harm caused to public order by the act.”
Additionally, Sarkozy was convicted in a separate corruption case involving an attempt to obtain confidential information from a judge in exchange for official services. He is currently serving his sentence while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.
He is expected to be held in a solitary confinement unit, where prisoners are believed to be placed in individual cells ranging from 9 to 12 square meters, equipped with private bathroom facilities. They can watch television for a monthly fee of up to 14 euros and are allowed to use landline phones.
In an interview with "Le Figaro," Sarkozy revealed his intention to bring three books with him during the first week of his incarceration, including Alexandre Dumas’ "The Count of Monte Cristo," which narrates the story of a man wrongfully imprisoned who plans revenge on those who betrayed him.
The ruling marks a significant shift in France’s legal approach, especially with reforms introduced by the previous socialist government, which indicated a growing trend toward enforcing sentences promptly—even during appeals—in an effort to combat impunity.
Though Sarkozy’s imprisonment decision angered many of his supporters on the far right, a poll conducted by Ilab for BFMTV showed that 58% of the French believe the ruling is fair, and 61% support executing the sentence immediately without waiting for the appeal’s results.
