Sarkozy begins five-year prison sentence

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year sentence on Tuesday for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, arriving at La Sante prison in Paris in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

- 

The former conservative president, 70, left his home for the car journey to the prison, walking hand in hand with his wife Carla Bruni and cheered by a crowd of supporters chanting “Nicolas, Nicolas" and singing La Marseillaise national anthem.

Sarkozy, who was convicted and sentenced last month, is the first former French leader to be jailed since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after World War Two.

Shortly after he headed for La Sante, Sarkozy published a long message on X in which he claimed to be a victim of revenge and hatred.