France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former head of an EU state to be jailed Tuesday, proclaiming his innocence as he entered a Paris prison. Sarkozy's lawyer said a request had been immediately filed for parole but he will remain incarcerated for at least a month.
France's right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012 was found guilty last month of seeking to acquire funding from Moamer Kadhafi's Libya for the campaign that saw him elected.
AFP journalists saw the 70-year-old – who has appealed the verdict – leave his home, and after a short drive flanked by police on motorbikes, enter the La Sante prison in the French capital.
"Welcome Sarkozy!", "Sarkozy's here," reporters from French news agency AFP heard convicts shouting from their cells.
In a defiant message posted on social media as he was being transferred, Sarkozy denied any wrongdoing.
"It is not a former president of the republic being jailed this morning, but an innocent man," he said on X.
"I have no doubt. The truth will prevail."
Sarkozy was handed a five-year jail term in September for criminal conspiracy over a plan for late Libyan dictator Kadhafi to fund his electoral campaign.
After his 25 September verdict, Sarkozy had said he would "sleep in prison – but with my head held high".
Dozens of supporters and family members had stood outside the former president's home from early Tuesday, some holding up framed portraits of him.
"Nicolas, Nicolas! Free Nicolas!" they shouted as he left his home, holding hands with his wife, singer Carla Bruni.
Sarkozy set to begin jail term over Libyan funding scandal
Earlier they had sung the French national anthem, as neighbours looked on from their balconies.
"This is truly a sad day for France and for democracy," said Flora Amanou, 41.
Sarkozy's lawyer Christophe Ingrain said a request had been immediately filed for Sarkozy's release.
The Paris appeals court in theory has two months to decide whether to free him pending an appeals trial, but the delay is usually shorter.
"He will be inside for at least three weeks to a month," Ingrain said.
Solitary confinement
"This is a sad day for him, for France and for our institutions because this incarceration is a disgrace," declared his other lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois.
Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper he will be taking with him a biography of Jesus and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, a novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.
Sarkozy is likely to be held in a nine square metre cell in the prison's solitary confinement wing to avoid contact with other prisoners, prison staff told AFP.
Sarkozy found guilty of conspiracy but cleared of graft in 'Libya cash trial'
In solitary confinement, prisoners are allowed out of their cells for one walk a day, alone, in a small yard. Sarkozy will also be allowed visits three times a week.
Six out of 10 people in France believe the prison sentence to be "fair", according to a survey of more than 1,000 adults conducted by pollster Elabe.
But Sarkozy still enjoys support on the French right and has on occasion had private meetings with President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron even welcomed Sarkozy to the Elysee Palace on Friday, telling the press this week: "It was normal, on a human level, for me to receive one of my predecessors in this context".
Pressure on justice system
Socialist leader Olivier Faure slammed the visit as putting "pressure on the justice system."
"It gives the impression that there are defendants who are different," he told RTL media on Tuesday. This does not correspond to respect for institutions".
The far-right National Rally (RN) defended the move, saying it was "show of consideration" and "the least that the current President of the Republic could do".
"Nicolas Sarkozy is not a prisoner like any other," argued Sébastien Chenu, the vice-president of the RN, on Public Sénat television.
Meanwhile, the Justice Minister, Gérald Darmanin has also said he will visit Sarkozy in prison, saying he would "ensure the safety" for the former leader, which was part of his job.
However, the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, Rémy Heitz, expressed concern about the risk of Darmanin's visit "undermining the independence of magistrates."
(with AFP)
