Humbed Nicolas Sarkozy and distraught-looking Carla Bruni leave their home as former French leader heads to prison:
Crowds look on as ex-president prepares to begin five-year term after final visit from his sons
By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: 03:17 EDT, 21 October 2025 | Updated: 04:23 EDT, 21 October 2025 110
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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was seen looking distraught alongside his wife Carla Bruni this morning as he left his Paris residence to head to prison where he will begin a five-year sentence.
The 70-year-old arrived at La Sante prison on Tuesday morning, with reporters hearing convicts shouting from their cells: 'Welcome Sarkozy!', 'Sarkozy's here.'
Sarkozy's conviction caps years of legal battles over allegations that his 2007 campaign took millions in cash from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later overthrown and killed during the Arab Spring uprisings.
'I'm not afraid of prison. I'll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates,' Sarkozy told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper ahead of his incarceration.
Sarkozy will be facing a 'tough time' in Paris's La Santé prison, FRANCE 24 reporter Clovis Casali said. The former president is likely to be held in a nine square metre cell in the prison's isolation wing to avoid Sarkozy having to interact with other prisoners for security reasons.
Sebastien Cauwel, who heads up the high-profile La Santé prison in Paris told RTL Radio: 'He will be able to access the exercise yard, on his own, twice a day, he will have access to an activities room while on his own and he will be alone when inside his prison cell.'
More than 100 people stood outside the jail this morning, after his son Louis, 28, called on supporters to rally in support of his father in the high-end Paris neighbourhood where the former French president lives. Another son, Pierre, called for a message of love - 'nothing else, please'.
Supporters chanted 'Nicolas, Nicolas' as he left his and stepped into the car that would take him to jail after sharing a final kiss with Bruni and waving goodbye to the crowds.
As he prepared to begin his prison term, he posted a message on social media repeating his claims that he is an 'innocent man' and said he feels a 'deep sorrow' for France.
'As I prepare to cross the walls of La Sante prison, my thoughts go out to the French people of all walks of life and opinions,' he said.
'I want to tell them with my unwavering strength that it is not a former President of the Republic who is being locked up this morning, it is an innocent person.'
He added: 'I feel deep sorrow for France, which finds itself humiliated by the expression of a vengeance that has taken hatred to an unprecedented level. I have no doubt. The truth will triumph. But the price to pay will have been crushing.'
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leave their Paris home on Tuesday as Nicolas Sarkozy heads to prison to serve time for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy kisses his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before leaving in a car on the day of his incarceration at the La Sante prison
France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy (C) waves to his supporters as he leaves his residence to present himself to La Sante Prison
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy blows a kiss as his husband former French President Nicolas Sarkozy heads to prison
Nicolas Sarkozy (C) hugs his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as he leaves his residence
Supporters of France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy gather outside his residence ahead of his departure to La Sante prison for incarceration on a five-year prison sentence
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Carla Bruni is pictured scooting around Paris the day before Sarkozy begins five-year jail term
Sarkozy's lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois also told Franceinfo radio that Sarkozy was getting ready for prison by bringing along pullovers and earplugs.
'He has put together a few bags in which he has put some pullovers as prisons can be cold and some earplugs as there could also be a lot of noise,' said Darrois.
Sarkozy had told Le Figaro he would take three books for his first week behind bars, including Alexandre Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo' - the story of a man unjustly imprisoned who plots his revenge against those who betrayed him.
At the end of last week he was received at the Élysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters on Monday 'it was normal that on a human level I should receive one of my predecessors in that context'.
In a further measure of official support for the ex-president, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would go to visit him in prison as part of his role in ensuring Sarkozy's safety and the proper functioning of the jail.
'I cannot be insensitive to a man's distress,' he added.
The incarceration makes him the first former French leader to be jailed since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after World War Two.
While Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with close aides to orchestrate the scheme in 2007, he was acquitted of personally receiving or using the funds.
He has consistently denied wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated, saying judges were seeking to humiliate him.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives by car at La Sante Prison in Paris, France, 21 October 2025
Carla Bruni Sarkozy oustide Nicolas Sarkozy's residence ahead of his departure to La Sante Prison for incarceration on a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy
Pierre Sarkozy arrives at the house of his father, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Son Louis Sarkozy and his wife Natali Husic leave the house of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Jean Sarkozy (2ndL) and Pierre Sarkozy (R), sons of France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy, arrive at their father's residence ahead of his departure to La Sante Prison
A supporter holds a poster with a portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy and the slogan 'Strong France' as people attend a gathering called by the sons of the former French President
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Ex-French President says he is 'not afraid' as he prepares to be jailed in a matter of hours
He has appealed, but the nature of his sentence means he must go to jail as his appeal process plays out.
The former president has already been convicted in a separate corruption case, in which he was found guilty of trying to obtain confidential information from a judge in return for career favours, serving that sentence by wearing an electronic tag around the ankle.
Sarkozy's isolation unit at La Santé prison in Paris, which in the past has housed leftist militant Carlos the Jackal and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, features inmates are housed in single cells and kept apart during outdoor activities for security reasons.
Conditions are similar to the rest of the prison: cells measure 100 to 130 square feet and, following renovations, now include private showers.
Sarkozy will have access to a television - for a monthly fee of 14 euros - and a landline telephone.
The decision to jail a former president has sparked outrage among Sarkozy's political allies and the far right.
Sarkozy with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, leaves his residence to present himself to La Sante Prison for incarceration on a five-year prison sentence
Sarkozy's isolation unit at La Santé prison in Paris, which in the past has housed leftist militant Carlos the Jackal and Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, features inmates are housed in single cells and kept apart during outdoor activities for security reasons
People gather outside former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's home, Tuesday, October 21, 2025 in Paris
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France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy says 'I will sleep in prison with my head held high'
However, the ruling reflects a shift in France's approach to white-collar crime, following reforms introduced under a previous Socialist government.
In the 1990s and 2000s, many convicted politicians avoided prison altogether.
To counter perceptions of impunity, French judges are increasingly issuing 'provisional execution' orders - requiring sentences to begin immediately, even as appeals are pending - legal experts and politicians told Reuters.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for office under the same 'provisional execution' provision, pending an appeal early next year.
According to an October 1 Elabe poll for BFM TV, 58 per cent of French respondents believe the verdict was impartial, and 61 per cent support the decision to send Sarkozy to jail without waiting for the appeal.
President Emmanuel Macron, who had warm relations with Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni, said on Monday he had met Sarkozy ahead of his incarceration.
Justice minister Gerald Darmanin, who is close to Sarkozy, told France Inter radio he would go and visit the former president. |
