Sarkozy starts five-year prison term for criminal conspiracy

Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday started a five-year prison sentence for a criminal conspiracy to obtain election funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

- Angelique Chrisafis

The rightwing ex-president is the first former head of an EU country - as well as the first French postwar leader - to go behind bars.

Sarkozy, who has appealed against his conviction, had sought to avoid being photographed at the gates of La Santé prison in southern Paris.

Instead, he organised a highly stage-managed departure from his home in the west of the capital with his wife, Carla Bruni.

His children, led by Giulia, his 14-year-old daughter with Bruni, also walked out to greet wellwishers.

Louis, one of Sarkozy's three sons, who is preparing to run for mayor in Menton on the French Riviera next spring, had called for supporters to protest in the street. Some shouted "Free Nicolas!" and carried framed photos. Sarkozy's social media account published a message in which he said "I am innocent" and described his imprisonment as a "judicial scandal".

Sarkozy, 70, hugged his wife in front of TV cameras and supporters before being driven, accompanied by his lawyers, to La Santé.

His car went in through a gate to avoid photographers seeing him on foot. As the doors of the jail closed, prisoners were heard to whistle. One shouted: "Sarkozy's here." Another replied: "Welcome Sarkozy!" He was found guilty last month of criminal conspiracy over a scheme to seek funding from Gaddafi's regime for his victorious 2007 presidential campaign.

The lead judge, Nathalie Gavarino, justified the five-year prison sentence by saying the facts of the case were of an "exceptional gravity" and "likely to undermine citizens' trust".