Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to prison on Tuesday (October 21) after being convicted of financial corruption. He has become the first former president in France’s history to serve jail time for a criminal offense. The court sentenced him to five years in prison for conspiring to receive illegal funds from Libya to finance his election campaign.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, this marks a dramatic fall from grace for a man who was once one of the most influential and globally recognized leaders. Sarkozy served as France’s conservative president from 2007 to 2012. He is the first former French president to be jailed since Marshal Philippe Pétain, the Nazi collaborator during World War II.
The report states that Sarkozy’s party allegedly received several million euros from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 campaign. Earlier this month, a French court handed him a five-year sentence and ordered him to report to prison within a month.
However, Sarkozy has denied all allegations and maintains his innocence. Before entering prison, he posted on social media declaring, “I am innocent. The truth will prevail.”
The former president has been placed in a solitary cell at Paris’s La Santé Prison. Due to security concerns, he is being kept separate from other inmates. The 95-square-foot cell is equipped with a private toilet, shower, table, and a small television.