Sarkozy in prison: "They wanted to make me disappear, and this gives me new life."

The former French president was convicted of criminal association, will have to serve a 5-year prison sentence.

“They wanted to make me disappear and this makes me reborn.” Nicolas Sarkozy told the newspaper Le Figaro on the most difficult day of his political career. The former French president, convicted in the first instance for criminal association in the case of alleged Libyan financing of the 2007 campaign, it will pass night in the Santé penitentiary, in the heart of Paris.

“My life is a novel,” he added, displaying the same defiance he had posed to the judges during the trial. His lawyers presented a Application for conditional release: the Court of Appeal must rule within two months. Ma Sarkozy could remain in prison until his appeal, scheduled for March 2026.

The former head of state he left his home in the morning, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni. A hundred supporters greeted him with chants and French flags, singing the Marseillaise. On his way to prison, Sarkozy wrote a post on X: "It's not a former President of the Republic who's being arrested this morning; it's an innocent man. This is a judicial scandal."

Secondo Le Figaro, Sarkozy he will be held in an 11 square meter cell, with a sealed window and total isolation for safety reasons. He will have a small TV, a stove, and a catalog for purchasing food, after being warned that the canteen food is "inedible." He will be allowed a scarf no longer than a meter, a rounded knife, and a fork. He will be allowed two visits a week, including those of his wife and children, and unlimited conversations with his lawyers.

Three guards will accompany him during the daily exercise hour in the internal courtyard of the penitentiary.In his cell, Sarkozy will have three books with him: The Count of Monte Cristo, in two volumes, and the Biography of Jesus by Jean-Christian Petitfils. “I'll take these with me, and maybe I'll write a book about this experience too,” he confided.

An unexpected return to the role of the man alone against the judiciary, which brings him back to the center of the French political and media scene. From today, for Sarkozy, the battle for rehabilitation begins behind a locked door.