Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy set to start a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy over Libyan funding

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he is not afraid of going to jail as he prepares to start a five-year prison sentence. 

Sarkozy, who is due to be incarcerated at Paris’s Sante prison on Tuesday, told the French newspaper La Tribune Dimanche he had already packed his bags and feels calm. 

The ex-leader is being locked up after being convicted of attempting to raise campaign funds from Libya in 2007. 

‘I am not afraid of prison. I will hold my head high, even in front of the gates of Sante,’ Sarkozy said, adding he will not ask for any special privileges.

The disgraced ex-president will be placed in solitary confinement over fears for his safety, the newspaper reports.

He will be housed on the top floor of the isolation wing, separate from other inmates, and will be accompanied by a prison guard at all times. 

Sarkozy will be allowed to make two visits a day to one of the prison’s three gyms and exercise yards.

Meanwhile, his wife, Italian supermodel Carla Bruni, will reportedly visit her husband every day during his five-year sentence.

Sarkozy said that he does not want to complain or be pitied during his imprisonment.

He added that he plans to spend his time in jail writing a book.

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over efforts by close aides to procure funds for his successful 2007 presidential bid from Libya during the rule of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The former leader has always said he was innocent and has appealed his conviction. 

It is the first time that a former French head of state has been found guilty of trying to use foreign money in such a manner.

Sarkozy, who was elected in 2007 but lost his bid for re-election in 2012, denied all wrongdoing during a three-month trial earlier this year that also involved 11 co-defendants, including three former ministers.