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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.