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The former French president has asserted that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

Sarkozy, who served as 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 be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

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

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.