Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be sentenced to prison in La Santé prison in the 14th arrondissement of Paris from 21 local time.According to French media reports such as the Figaro newspaper and France News, French President Emmanuel Macron secretly met with him in the Elysée Palace on 17 October, before Sarkozy was sentenced to prison.

Agence France-Presse said that a source from the French administrative department confirmed the meeting on the 20th. The Elysee Palace has not yet responded to this news.

According to previous reports by AFP and other media, prison staff revealed that Sarkozy may be detained in a 9-square-meter cell in a solitary confinement area. AFP said staff said the move would prevent Sarkozy from coming into contact with other prisoners and prevent the latter from filming Sarkozy with smuggled mobile phones.

The British "Guardian" said that Sarkozy had previously disclosed to France's "Sunday Tribune" that he had been required to report to La Sainte prison on the morning of the 21st and said that he "does not require any special treatment" while serving his sentence in prison. The report quoted French newspaper Le Figaro as saying that Sarkozy said he had packed family photos and three books into his luggage, items allowed to carry in the first week. In addition, someone advised him to wear earplugs."You will hear a lot of noise, shouts and screams at night."

On September 25 this year, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly illegally receiving campaign funding provided by former Libyan leader Gaddafi by the Paris Criminal Court. Judge Gavarin said Sarkozy was convicted of "conspiracy between 2005 and 2007", "allowing his family and political supporters to request financial support from the Libyan government in the 2007 presidential campaign".