Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began serving a five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday for conspiring to finance his 2007 campaign with Libyan funds, becoming the first modern French leader to be jailed.
Sarkozy, 70, was greeted by hundreds of supporters when he walked out of his Paris home hand-in-hand with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. He embraced her before getting into a police car.
On his way to prison, Sarkozy released a statement on social media declaring that "an innocent man" was being locked up.
Minutes later, the vehicle passed through the gates of the notorious La Sante prison – where Sarkozy will now serve his sentence in solitary confinement.
Sarkozy was convicted last month for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.
He contests both the conviction and a judge's unusual decision to incarcerate him pending appeal. His lawyers said Tuesday that they filed an immediate request for his release.
"It's an ominous day for him, for France, and for our institutions, because this incarceration is a disgrace," Sarkozy's lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois told reporters soon after his incarceration.
Sarkozy's lawyers said he will be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons.
Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper that he would bring three books – the maximum allowed – including Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo," in which the hero escapes from an island prison before seeking revenge. His lawyers said he packed a bag with a few sweaters because the prison is cold and earplugs because it's noisy.
Christophe Ingrain, another of Sarkozy's lawyers, denounced "a serious injustice."
"It's a very difficult time, but the president has stood strong," Ingrain said. "He doesn't complain, hasn't asked for anything, no special treatment."
Sarkozy will be allowed to go outdoors one hour per day alone in the prison yard and to get three visits per week from his family, Ingrain said, adding that he is planning to write a book about his prison experience.
Sarkozy's journey from the presidential Elysee Palace to La Sante prison has captivated France.
After leaving their home, Sarkozy and his wife walked slowly to join family members, including his children and grandchildren, outside his home.
"I'm very proud to share his name, and very proud of how he's reacting," said his brother, Guillaume Sarkozy. "I'm truly convinced that he is innocent."
Hundreds of supporters applauded and chanted "Nicolas, Nicolas" and sang the French anthem. Two French flags were hung on a nearby fence, with the words "Courage Nicolas, return soon" and "true France with Nicolas."
Parisian resident Virginie Rochon, 44, came in support of Sarkozy, calling it "scandalous" to see "a former president being taken away while still presumed innocent."
Another supporter, Veronique Maurey, 50, said "it's just not possible. And on top of that, calling it a 'criminal conspiracy' kind of makes all of us feel like criminals too, because we voted for him. It's not right to say that."
Embattled centrist President Emmanuel Macron hosted the conservative Sarkozy at the presidential palace last week. ''I have always been very clear in my public statements about the independence of the judiciary in my role, but it was normal on a human level to receive one of my predecessors in this context,'' Macron said Monday.
Sarkozy has been retired from active politics for years but remains very influential, especially in conservative circles.
"I'm not afraid of prison. I'll hold my head high, including in front of the doors of La Sante," he told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper last week. "I'll fight till the end."
The Paris court ruled that Sarkozy would start to serve prison time without waiting for his appeal to be heard, due to "the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offense."
In its Sept. 25 ruling, the court said Sarkozy, as a presidential candidate and interior minister, used his position "to prepare corruption at the highest level" from 2005 to 2007, to finance his presidential campaign with funds from Libya - then led by longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.
Under the ruling, Sarkozy was able to file a request for release to the appeals court only once behind bars. Judges have up to two months to process it.
