Trending 
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to begin his prison sentence on Tuesday for a criminal conspiracy related to the funding of his 2007 election campaign, allegedly backed by Libya.
He is the first former leader of modern France to be incarcerated and is contesting both his conviction and a judge’s rare choice to imprison him while awaiting appeal.
His transition from the presidential Élysée Palace to the infamous La Santé prison in Paris has drawn significant attention in France.
One of Sarkozy’s sons, Louis, organised a rally on Tuesday morning to support his father in the affluent neighbourhood of Paris where Sarkozy resides with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Embattled centrist President Emmanuel Macron hosted the conservative Sarkozy at the presidential palace the previous week.
Sarkozy, who led France’s right-wing government from 2007 until 2012, will be the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison.
He received a five-year prison sentence in September for criminal conspiracy linked to a scheme involving the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi financing his electoral campaign.
The 70-year-old has appealed the ruling and criticised it as an “injustice,” and he is slated to be confined at La Santé prison in Paris.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison — but with my head held high,” he told the press after his September 25 verdict.
A crowd of his supporters gathered outside his home on Tuesday morning, some displaying framed images of him. They sang the French national anthem while neighbours observed from their balconies.
Sarkozy will become the first French leader to be imprisoned since Philippe Pétain, a Nazi collaborator, who was incarcerated after World War II.
Prison staff say Sarkozy is expected to be held in a nine-square-meter (95 square foot) cell within the solitary confinement section, which would limit contact with other inmates and prevent them from taking his picture with one of the numerous mobile phones that are smuggled in.
In solitary confinement, prisoners typically get one opportunity for a daily walk alone in a small yard. Sarkozy will also be permitted three visits each week.
It remains uncertain how long Sarkozy will be incarcerated. Following his bribery conviction, he was stripped of France’s highest honour, the Legion of Honour.
According to a survey of over 1,000 adults by pollster Elabe, six out of 10 individuals in France believe his prison sentence is “fair.”
Despite this, he continues to have support on the French right and has occasionally held private discussions with President Macron.
