Sarkozy: If they really want me to go to prison, I will—with my head held high

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to serve a five-year prison sentence at La Santé prison in Paris. He will be transferred there on Oct. 21, with the court issuing the ruling without waiting for an appeal from the former president.

Sarkozy was previously found guilty by the Paris criminal court of illegally financing his presidential campaign with funds provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

According to Le Figaro, for security reasons, Sarkozy may be placed in the wing for vulnerable prisoners or in a single cell, but under a standard regime. After imprisonment, his lawyers may file a request for release with the Paris Court of Appeal.

“I will take responsibility and comply with the court’s orders. If they really want me to go to prison, I will do it—but with my head held high,” Sarkozy said.

“Sarkozy will not escape prison,” Le Figaro writes. Appeal hearings are scheduled for March 2026, and until then, he must remain in custody.

In France, Sarkozy’s sentence is considered “historic.” He is the first president of the French Republic—and even the first EU state leader—to be imprisoned.

La Santé prison, located in Paris’ 14th arrondissement in the south of the city, is currently the only operational prison in the French capital. Built in 1867, it previously held prisoners sentenced to penal labor or death. Executions were also carried out on the prison’s front square using a guillotine transported on rails. During World War II, political prisoners and members of the Resistance were held there.

French journalists note that Sarkozy is likely to feel comfortable at La Santé. The prison was renovated just five years ago, offering inmates individual cells of 10–12 square meters, each equipped with showers.