First night behind bars
Why Sarkozy also has bodyguards in prison
October 22, 2025 – 6:47 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
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The former president of France is in prison. Like every other prisoner, Sarkozy is not treated there.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, imprisoned for planned corruption at the highest level, has spent his first night in the Santé prison in Paris – protected by two police officers who shared one of the neighboring cells. The former president fundamentally has a right to personal protection, and this will be “maintained even in prison,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told CNews on Wednesday. “It’s about maintaining his safety.” The minister emphasized that this had been agreed with the prison administration.
The presence of the two bodyguards sparked strong criticism from the prison staff union. “It looks like we’re not doing our job,” union leader Wilfried Fonck told broadcaster RTL. He has “never experienced anything like this” in his 25-year career.
They are not the only staff that Sarkozy will retain during his prison stay. According to information from broadcaster BFM, his two secretaries continue to work for Sarkozy. They primarily took care of the mail and the numerous calls, the station reported.
According to a poll published on Wednesday, three out of four French people say Sarkozy should not receive special treatment in prison. Among conservative Republican supporters, 52 percent are still of the opinion that he should be treated like a normal prisoner.
After his imprisonment on Tuesday, Sarkozy had already received a visit from his friend and lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois. He confirmed that Sarkozy’s cell was nine square meters in size and that it was very loud. The 70-year-old wanted to “do as much sport as possible” and write his next book during his prison sentence, said Darrois. Sarkozy started both on the first day.
Sarkozy is not supposed to have contact with other inmates for security reasons. Therefore, his food is served to him by prison staff, not, as is usual, by a fellow prisoner assigned to this service.
Once a day he is allowed to walk for an hour in a barred courtyard that is protected from view, and he can receive visitors three times a week. His wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and his children do not have to stay in the waiting room with relatives of other prisoners, but are taken directly to the consultation room.
Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison in September. The judges saw it as proven that close associates had been negotiating on his behalf with the Libyan government since 2005 in order to receive money for his presidential election campaign. Because of the particular seriousness of the crime, the court ordered the immediate execution of the prison sentence.
Sarkozy himself continues to protest his innocence – most recently on the online service X a few minutes before his departure to the prison. Immediately after his detention, his lawyers filed an application for early release. They assume that the ex-president will be released under conditions after around four weeks. Sarkozy himself heavily criticized such measures a few years ago. “Every sentence imposed should be carried out,” demanded Sarkozy in 2012.
