Sarkozy to Enter Prison October 21, Sources Say

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will serve jail time at a Paris prison starting October 21, according to informed sources who shared the news on Monday. This follows a court ruling last month that sentenced him to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy.

The 70-year-old former leader will be the first postwar French president and the first head of a European Union country to face imprisonment. He is expected to be housed at La Sante prison in Paris, where additional security measures will be put in place to ensure his safety. Sarkozy may be placed in a unit for vulnerable prisoners or kept in solitary confinement.

Sarkozy, who served as France's president from 2007 to 2012, was convicted in late September over a scheme involving Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi funding his 2007 presidential campaign. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Sarkozy and his aides struck a deal with Kadhafi in 2005 to illegally fund his election bid two years later.

Investigators believe that in return, Kadhafi was promised assistance in restoring his international image after being blamed by the West for the bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and another over Niger in 1989, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.

Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino stated that the offenses were of "exceptional gravity" and ordered Sarkozy's incarceration. The court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy but did not accept the prosecution's claim that he directly benefited from the illegal campaign financing.

Sarkozy was acquitted on separate charges of embezzling Libyan public funds, passive corruption, and illicit financing of an electoral campaign.

Earlier on Monday, Sarkozy visited the financial prosecutor's office in Paris to learn more about his upcoming incarceration. He arrived in a car with tinted windows and left after about three-quarters of an hour without making any comments, as observed by journalists.

A photographer later spotted him returning home. Sarkozy has denied the charges and has appealed against his conviction. A new trial is expected in the coming months, with the Paris appeals court having up to 18 months to organize it.

Once jailed, his legal team can petition the appeals court for his release, but he will remain in custody unless the court decides otherwise.

Legal Woes

Since leaving office, Sarkozy has faced a series of legal challenges. Last year, France's top court upheld his conviction and one-year jail sentence for graft related to an attempt in 2014 to secure favors from a judge. He served three months of that sentence with an electronic tag earlier this year before being granted conditional release.

He also received a one-year jail term—six months in prison with another six months suspended—for illegal financing of his 2012 campaign. Sarkozy has filed a final appeal with France's top court, which is set to issue its ruling late next month.

Beyond the courtroom, Sarkozy has faced consequences such as losing his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, following the graft conviction.

Despite these legal issues, the former president, who once styled himself as the "hyper-president," still holds considerable influence and popularity within French politics, particularly on the right. He has been known to meet regularly with President Emmanuel Macron.