Can you imagine a former French president behind bars? Well, it’s reality for Nicolas Sarkozy.
The ex-leader, 70, is now the first French ex-president to go to jail.
He is starting a five-year sentence over allegations he tried to fund his 2007 campaign with money from Libya’s late dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
Not since World War II has France seen such a thing—Philippe Pétain went down for treason back in 1945.
Sarkozy arrived at La Santé prison in Paris’s Montparnasse district under heavy police protection.
More than 100 supporters cheered him on as he left his villa with wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy by his side.
Life Behind Bars
“It is not a former president they are locking up this morning—it is an innocent man,” he posted on X, maintaining his innocence.
Inside, life is stark. His cell is tiny—about 95–120 sq ft—with a TV, shower, and one hour of daily exercise.
Isolation is strict. “You are alone all the time…there’s a type of social isolation which makes life difficult,” says La Santé’s ex-deputy head Flavie Rault.
Despite the drama, Sarkozy is keeping his head high.
He’s appealing the sentence and has chosen two symbolic reads: The Count of Monte Cristo and a life of Jesus—stories of resilience and redemption.
As France watches history unfold, one can’t help but wonder.
In the courtroom of public opinion, who really wins when a former president ends up behind bars?
