Former French president begins five-year prison sentence

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy begins serving a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday. A court found him guilty of conspiring to obtain campaign funds from Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. Sarkozy is the first former French president to serve a prison sentence since the end of World War II.

Sarkozy will serve his sentence in La Santé prison in Paris, where he is expected to be housed in an isolated unit with his own cell. In prison, he will have access to a television and a telephone for a monthly fee. Sarkozy is taking three books with him, including “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas.

According to an October poll, the majority of French people consider the verdict to be impartial and support his immediate imprisonment, despite the appeal. The verdict has drawn criticism from political allies, but reflects a shift in the approach to white-collar crime. President Emmanuel Macron met with Sarkozy before his imprisonment.

(reuters, sie)