The 70-year-old former leader left the house with his wife Carla Bruni, cheered by his supporters singing La Marseillaise.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his residence to report to La Santé prison where he will be incarcerated for a five-year prison sentence after being found guilty of criminal conspiracy in connection with a project by the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 electoral campaign, in Paris, October 21, 2025. PHOTO: AFP
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year prison sentence Tuesday for conspiring to raise campaign funds in Libya. His arrival at La Santé prison in Paris constitutes a stunning fall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.
The 70-year-old former conservative leader left his home to drive to the prison, walking hand in hand with his wife Carla Bruni and cheered by supporters chanting “Nicolas, Nicolas” and singing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
Sarkozy, who was convicted and sentenced last month, is the first former French leader to be imprisoned since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Pétain after World War II.
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Sarkozy says he is innocent
Shortly after going to La Santé, Sarkozy published a long article on X claiming to be the victim of “revenge and hatred”.
“It is not a former President of the Republic who is incarcerated this morning, he is an innocent person,” he declared.
Sarkozy’s conviction ended years of legal battles over allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions of euros in cash from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later toppled and killed in the Arab Spring uprisings.
While Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with his aides to orchestrate the financing plan, he was acquitted of personally receiving or using the money. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and called the matter politically motivated.
His lawyers said they had filed a request for early release pending appeal and expected a review within a month, hoping Sarkozy could be released by Christmas.
Sarkozy will be placed in solitary confinement
Sarkozy will likely be held in La Santé’s isolation unit, where detainees occupy individual cells and are separated during outside activities for security reasons.
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Cells are between 9 and 12 square meters (100 to 130 square feet) and, following renovations, include private showers. Sarkozy will have access to a television for a monthly subscription of 14 euros ($16) and a landline telephone.
He told Le Figaro he would bring three books for his first week behind bars, including The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the story of an unjustly imprisoned man who plots revenge on those who betrayed him.
Political outcry
The decision to jail a former president sparked outrage among Sarkozy’s political allies and France’s far right.
“Nicolas Sarkozy is not a criminal,” declared his supporter Jacqueline Fraboulet on Tuesday, among the jubilant crowd. “We have the impression that justice is taking power, and that is not good for France.”
A photo taken on April 12, 2019 shows corridors of the Santé prison in Paris renovated after four years of work. Ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former head of an EU state to be imprisoned on October 21, 2025, proclaiming his innocence upon entering Paris Santé prison. PHOTO: AFP
Sarkozy’s children and brothers were present at the meeting. The former president, looking somber, greeted his supporters before getting into his car to go to prison.
France toughens its fight against white-collar crime
This conviction marks a change in France’s position on white-collar crime. In the 1990s and 2000s, many convicted politicians avoided prison altogether.
Despite his legal troubles, Sarkozy’s political influence remains strong as French society has shifted to the right.
President Emmanuel Macron, who maintains cordial relations with Sarkozy and Bruni, said Monday he met the former president before his incarceration.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said he planned to visit Sarkozy in prison – a move that angered left-wing politicians, who accused Macron’s government of undermining the independence of the judiciary.
The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Sarkozy was elected in 2007 on a promise to revive the French economy through business-friendly reforms. However, its efforts were thwarted by the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
Voters didn’t give him much credit for raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 and relaxing France’s strict 35-hour work week, reforms that remain controversial today.
