Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday was informed of when and where he will serve his prison sentence but he has declined to make that information public.
Sarkozy, who has been sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over a scheme related to funds sent from long-time Libya leader Muammar Qaddafi, was summoned at 2pm local time on Monday by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office.
He left half an hour later but made no statement. Neither his lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, nor the prosecutor's office would comment. His incarceration is set to begin within four months.
Sarkozy, 70, will be the first former president in modern French history to be jailed. He maintains his innocence and has protested against the decision to put him in prison before his appeal against the ruling is heard.
While long retired from active politics, Sarkozy remains an influential figure in conservative circles. He served as president from 2007 to 2012 and was previously convicted in another corruption case but has not yet had to serve time.
For safety reasons, Sarkozy is expected to be jailed under conditions reserved for high-profile inmates, possibly in a special “VIP area” of La Sante Prison, a jail in Paris where some of France’s most notorious criminals have been detained. Cells measure nine square metres and include a bed, shower, toilet, telephone and cooking hob.
Once behind bars, Sarkozy will be able to file a release request to the appeals court. Judges will have up to two months to process the request.
Sarkozy was handed a five-year sentence on September 25 after a decade of investigation. The Paris court said the prison sentence was effective immediately, instead of suspending it pending appeal, referring to “the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offence".
Sarkozy was given 18 days after the ruling to “organise his professional life” before learning the details of his incarceration. The French Justice Ministry said in 2024 that 90 per cent of adults convicted and sentenced to at least two years in prison are jailed immediately.
The court said that, as a presidential candidate and interior minister, Sarkozy used his position “to prepare corruption at the highest level” from 2005 to 2007 related to funds from Libya, led at the time by Qaddafi.
The court cleared Sarkozy of three other charges and said there was no evidence the money transferred from Libya to France was used in Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election campaign or for his “direct personal enrichment".
Sarkozy has said consistently that he is the victim of a plot by people linked to the Libyan government. He suggested the allegations were made in retaliation for his call for Qaddafi’s removal in 2011. The Libyan dictator was toppled and killed during the Arab uprisings that year.
