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The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

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

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a recording of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.