Two La France insoumise deputies attempted to visit the isolation wing of La Santé prison to meet Nicolas Sarkozy, but their request was denied. Accompanied by journalists, Ugo Bernalicis and Danièle Obono invoked their parliamentary visitation rights, drawing criticism for 'voyeurism'. The incident led to the postponement of visits by the former president's family and lawyers.
On Monday, October 27, 2025, deputies Ugo Bernalicis (Nord) and Danièle Obono (Paris), members of La France insoumise and elected to the National Assembly since 2017, visited La Santé prison in Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy has been incarcerated there since the previous week. According to sources close to the case, the parliamentarians explicitly requested access to the isolation wing from the prison administration to exchange with the former president and the two police officers providing his security.
Accompanied by journalists from Le Monde and Politis, they invoked their right of visit, a prerogative under Article 719 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that allows any deputy or senator to enter a penal institution without prior notice to inspect detention conditions. The deputies' entourage stated the aim was to examine conditions in ordinary, medical, and pre-trial detention wings, without initially mentioning Sarkozy's presence.
A witness to the scene described the initiative as «C’était du voyeurisme», expressing disbelief. Véronique Waché, the former head of state's longtime collaborator, reacted on social network X by voicing her «nausée». In a press release, the LFI deputies expressed outrage at being unable to access the isolation wing with their phones and accompanied by journalists. «De manière inattendue et contraire à l’article 719 du code de procédure pénale, les député.es ont vu leur droit de visite illégalement restreint», they wrote, stating they had filed an emergency petition with the Paris Administrative Court.
This incident resulted in the postponement of visits scheduled that day by Nicolas Sarkozy's lawyers and family.