[World Wide Web Reporter Li Ziyu] According to AFP and other media reports, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will serve his sentence in La Sainte Prison in the 14th arrondissement of Paris starting from the 21st local time. Prison staff revealed that Sarkozy may be held in a 9-square-meter cell in a solitary confinement area.

Agence France-Presse said that the staff said that this would prevent Sarkozy from contacting other prisoners, and also prevent the latter from photographing Sarkozy with smuggled mobile phones.

According to the report, it is not clear how long Sarkozy will be held in prison at the moment. Natalie Gavarin, the chief judge at the Paris Criminal Court, said at the verdict that Sarkozy¡¯s crimes were ¡°extremely serious¡± and that even if he appealed, he would have to be imprisoned. But Sarkozy¡¯s lawyers are expected to apply for release immediately after his imprisonment, and the Court of Appeal has two months to review it.

The report added that Sarkozy was expected to spend a considerable amount of time alone before the court ruling. During a separate detention, prisoners could walk out of the cell alone every day, once in a few square meters yard.

Prior to his imprisonment, Sarkozy said he was "not afraid."The Guardian that Sarkozy told the French newspaper Sunday News that he had been asked to report in La Santé prison on the morning of the 21st and said he "did not ask for any special treatment" during his imprisonment.

The report quoted the French newspaper le figaro as saying that Sarkozy had packed family photos and three books, which were the items allowed to be carried in the first week. In addition, others suggested that he bring earplugs, "you hear a lot of noise, shouting and screaming at night."

Sarkozy served as French president from 2007 to 2012. After he lost the election for * in 2012, the French media exposed a secret document of Libyan intelligence department, saying that "Sarkozy had received huge euro political donations from Libya for his 2007 presidential campaign". Therefore, French prosecutors suspected that Gaddafi and his second son Saif provided Sarkozy with political donations to help the election. In March 2011, Saif revealed in an interview with Euronews TV that Libya had provided funds for Sarkozy's campaign.

On September 25 this year, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison by the Paris Criminal Court on suspicion of illegally accepting campaign funding provided by former Libya leader Gaddafi. Presiding judge Gavarino said Sarkozy was convicted of "conspiracy" between 2005 and 2007 to "allow his cronies and political supporters to demand financial support from the Libya government during the 2007 presidential election." On the afternoon of October 13, the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office summoned Sarkozy, who was sentenced to five years in prison by the Paris Criminal Court, to inform him of the time and place of serving the sentence. According to French media reports, Sarkozy will serve his sentence in a prison in Paris starting on October 21. According to multiple media reports such as Le Figaro, Sarkozy has appealed the verdict, insisting that he is innocent, but the appeal has no probation effect. Therefore, he must serve his sentence in prison. An appeal hearing will be held in the Court of Appeal in March 2026.