As the shock of the former French president’s condemnation for recedes, the next big question is one: Where will he be imprisoned?
The French authorities have not yet announced which prison will go, but people with the knowledge of the French judicial system say that the possible prison could be La Sande in Paris, a historic prison that once hosted the leftist rebel “Carlos the Tsakali” and his former dictator. “It is the prison that best suits a profile like his own,” said a representative of the correctional union, Vilfried Fonk.
As Reuters said and reports, La Sande has a wing for “vulnerable people”, the so -called “VIP apartments”, where in the past, prominent political personalities were imprisoned, including Sarkozy’s former associate, Claude Ggan, who was one of them.
Prisoners in the VIP wing are held in single cells, as opposed to the usual three -person units, and remain alone during the proceedings for security reasons. But apart from that, Fonk said, conditions are no better than elsewhere in prison, where cells are usually 9-12 square meters.
Shower, telephone and rented TV
Zulien Fissimister, from the French part of the International Prison Observatory, said La Sande was recently renovated and thus had better conditions than many other prisons.
After the renovation, he said, all cells have their own shower, TV, which Sarkozy should pay 14 euros a month and a landline phone. The meals will be delivered to Sarkozy, although prison allows prisoners to buy products to prepare their meals in the cells.
“We do not wish the prison to anyone, but what we can say is that once it is a personality that represents a social circle that usually avoids prison,” the fisters said.
Prison could be a difficult experience for Sarkozy, a former president with a harsh attitude towards the crime, who had once called the young turmoil in the suburbs, threatening to “clean” them with strong aquifers.
Like many prisons in France, La Sande is overcrowded. In August, there were 1,243 prisoners in prison, designed to host 657, according to information from the Ministry of Justice.
