Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited former President Nicolas Sarkozy at La Santé prison on Wednesday evening, fulfilling a prior announcement. The meeting, in the presence of the prison director, lasted from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The visit has drawn criticism regarding judicial independence.
Nicolas Sarkozy was incarcerated on October 21, 2025, at La Santé prison, following his September 25 conviction by the Paris correctional court to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in the Libyan financing affair of his 2007 presidential campaign. Convicted for allowing collaborators Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux to meet a dignitary from Muammar Kadhafi's regime in Tripoli to discuss occult funding, the former head of state has appealed and claims innocence.
As announced on France Inter days before the incarceration, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Mr. Sarkozy on Wednesday, October 29, from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., in the presence of the prison director. The minister states this action falls under his responsibility to ensure the organization of this exceptional detention and the security of the former president, protected by two officers according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, due to his status and threats against him. He cites Article 20 of the Constitution, which assigns him vigilance duties as head of administration accountable to Parliament.
The visit is criticized by Rémy Heitz, prosecutor at the Cour de cassation and co-president of the Conseil supérieur de la magistrature, who sees it as a « risk of obstacle to the serenity » of justice and an attack on magistrates' independence. The left, through Parti socialiste first secretary Olivier Faure, has also condemned respect for institutions, especially after Mr. Sarkozy's reception by Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée shortly before incarceration. President Macron justified the meeting as « normal on human grounds », while reaffirming judicial independence.
Mr. Sarkozy's incarceration illustrates the principle of equality before the law, though it has sparked indignant reactions. As he stated: « This is not a former President of the Republic being locked up this morning, it is an innocent man. » He is presumed innocent pending a final conviction, like 22,364 other detainees in France.