Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has described his prison sentence as “gruelling” and “a nightmare” during a court hearing where he requested to serve his term at home. Sarkozy appeared via video link from La Santé prison on Monday, dressed in a navy suit and seated at a table with his lawyers.
“I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane and have made this nightmare bearable,” Sarkozy said. He added that the ordeal was difficult and left a lasting mark, emphasizing that it was imposed on him without his prior expectation.
Sarkozy entered prison on 21 October after a Paris court sentenced him to five years for criminal conspiracy related to alleged efforts to secure funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He has appealed the verdict, but judges ordered that he begin serving his sentence immediately due to the “exceptional gravity” of the conviction.
Serving as France’s right-wing president between 2007 and 2012, Sarkozy is the first former leader of a European Union country to go to prison and the first French postwar president to be incarcerated. Speaking from prison, he maintained his innocence, saying he never sought funds from Gaddafi and would never confess to actions he did not commit. “I never imagined that at 70 years of age I’d be in prison,” he said.
Sarkozy emphasized that he would not try to contact other defendants or witnesses. He highlighted the impact his imprisonment had on his family, stating, “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”
His lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, described the isolation as extremely challenging. Another lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, said Sarkozy would be safer outside prison, noting that he had faced death threats, heard disturbing incidents at night, and witnessed urgent interventions when other inmates self-harmed.
When Sarkozy entered prison, he organized a public departure from his home, walking with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, to greet supporters. Bruni-Sarkozy attended Monday’s court hearing with their two eldest sons. Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for security reasons in a nine-square-meter cell equipped with a shower and toilet. Two bodyguards occupy a neighboring cell for added protection. Reports indicate that he has been cautious about food, eating mainly yoghurts and refusing to cook for himself due to safety concerns.
Despite these restrictions, Sarkozy has received numerous letters, postcards, and packages, which he pledged to answer. He also brought personal reading material to prison, including a biography of Jesus and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the story of an innocent man wrongfully imprisoned who seeks revenge.
During his three-month trial, prosecutors accused Sarkozy of entering into a “Faustian pact of corruption” with Gaddafi. Sarkozy denied wrongdoing, maintaining that he was not involved in criminal conspiracy or illegal campaign financing. He was acquitted of several charges, including corruption, misuse of Libyan funds, and illegal campaign financing, though the state prosecutor has appealed the acquittals, and he will be retried on all charges next year.
Sarkozy had previously faced convictions in two other cases and was stripped of France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honour. He also became the first former French head of state required to wear an electronic tag after being sentenced in a separate corruption case. He served that sentence at home for three months before receiving conditional release.
Sarkozy’s current prison experience, described as grueling and isolating, highlights the unprecedented nature of a former French president facing incarceration. His request to serve his sentence at home continues to be considered by the court, with a decision expected shortly.
