France has entered uncharted territory as former President Nicolas Sarkozy began serving his five-year prison sentence at La Santé prison in Paris on Tuesday, marking the first time a modern French leader has been incarcerated.
The 70-year-old left his Paris home around 10 a.m., waving to over a hundred supporters gathered at his son Louis’s call. Accompanied by his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, he was escorted by police to the historic 19th-century facility in southern Paris.
A Landmark Conviction and Political Shockwaves
Sarkozy was convicted on September 25, 2025, for orchestrating a scheme between 2005 and 2007 to illegally fund his 2007 presidential campaign with money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Prosecutors claimed that Sarkozy’s associates arranged up to €50 million in secret funding in exchange for diplomatic favors to rehabilitate Gaddafi’s image.
While acquitted of passive corruption and illicit financing, Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy. Judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offenses as “exceptionally serious” and ordered him to begin serving time immediately, despite his appeal.
Sarkozy maintains his innocence, denouncing the case as politically motivated revenge by Gaddafi loyalists angered by France’s role in the 2011 Libyan intervention. His former ministers, Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, also received prison sentences.
Prison Life and Next Steps
At La Santé, Sarkozy is expected to stay in a private or solitary confinement section, in a 9-square-meter cell with a shower, phone, and TV. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed he would personally inspect the facility to ensure safety measures.
Sarkozy’s legal team will file for his immediate release, and the appeals court will review the request within two months. The former president, who led France from 2007 to 2012, is the first French head of state to be jailed since World War II.