If all goes well, Sarkozy can be released from prison early next year, with his new book, and it seems that he can earn a payment?

Wen The King

On October 21, local time, the 70-year-old former French president Sarkozy was officially jailed, opening his five-year prison sentence.

Sarkozy (center), 70, held the hand of his 58-year-old Italian wife Bruni and walked towards prison.

Why in prison?

Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 to 2012.

Since leaving office, Sarkozy has been under judicial investigation for political donations.

In March 2018, Sarkozy was detained by French police on charges of accepting illegal donations from the government of then Libya leader Gaddafi. He was released after being held for 48 hours. In March 2021, Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of bribing judges and obstructing investigations into political donations. On December 18, 2024, the French Supreme Court upheld Sarkozy's previous sentence of three years in prison. However, Sarkozy does not have to serve his sentence in prison, but wears an electronic bracelet. On June 15, 2025, Sarkozy was stripped of his French Legion of Honor.

On September 25th this year, Sarkozy was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the Paris Criminal Court.

After Sarkozy's re-defeat in the 2012 election, French media disclosed a secret Libyan intelligence document that said Sarkozy had "received huge political donations from Libya for his 2007 presidential campaign."

Sarkozy and Gaddafi met in Paris in 2007.

In March 2011, Saif revealed in an interview that Libya had provided funds for Sarkozy's campaign. The presiding judge in this case said that Sarkozy was convicted of "conspiracy" between 2005 and 2007, and "allowed his cronies and political supporters to ask the Libyan government for financial support in the 2007 presidential campaign".

Prosecutors allege that the deal was for Libya to provide campaign funds and Sarkozy to help Gaddafi's regime, which was then isolated by the international community for supporting terrorism, such as planning and carrying out the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, return to the international stage.

Sarkozy insisted on his ¡°innocence¡± after the trial and said he would appeal the verdict. French media, citing reports from the justice department, that while Sarkozy had filed an appeal, the judicial system would still initiate a lawful sentence enforcement procedure before the appeal trial began, informing him of the arrangements for serving his sentence.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy left after his trial.

Started writing a book in the city prison of Paris

In order to ensure Sarkozy¡¯s safety, he was detained in the Prison de la Santé in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, the last prison in the city district, with 158 years of history, witnessing the modern history of French justice, characterized by the VIP area featuring celebrity detainees.

La Sante is the last prison in downtown Paris

It is reported that Sarkozy is detained in the VIP area (or "vulnerable people's area"), with a single cell of about 9 square meters, equipped with basic facilities such as beds, tables, chairs, sinks and toilets, and has no contact with ordinary prisoners. Staff said the move could prevent Sarkozy from coming into contact with other prisoners and prevent the latter from filming Sarkozy with smuggled mobile phones.

The VIP area has been renovated after 2014 and conditions have been improved, compared to the ordinary prisoner area (2-4 people share a 3-5 square meter cell), VIP area treatment has been very superior. In addition, VIP area can also pay for some additional benefits, such as buying snacks, renting TV, etc., but TV can only watch a limited number of public channels.

The Lausanne Prison.

According to the World Wide Web, 48-year-old French President Macron met secretly with Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace on October 17 before serving his sentence.

Sarkozy and Macron information map

The talks werely about 40 to 60 minutes long and Macron responded that the meeting was only a ¡°humanitarian move¡± and did not involve judicial intervention.

Since he was just in jail, it is not known whether Sarkozy was ¡°preferably treated.¡±

Currently public information is that Sarkozy will have an hour of ventilation every day, and family can visit one to two times a week, about 30-45 minutes each visit.

Sarkozy says goodbye to wife before jail

It is worth mentioning that he brought family photos and three books (including The Count of Monte Cristo) to prison, and began writing books on his first day in prison.

At the same time, Sarkozy will not be willing to stay in prison for long. It is reported that after Sarkozy's imprisonment, his lawyer can immediately submit an application for release, which will be reviewed within two months. The appeal hearing against Sarkozy will be held in March 2026.

If all goes well, Sarkozy can be released from prison early next year, with his new book, and it seems that he can earn a payment?

References: World Wide Web, CCTV News, Xinhua News Agency, China News Network, China News Weekly

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