Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is now serving time in Paris' La Santé prison, but he won't be alone. The Guardian reports two police officers will be stationed in neighboring cells to protect him for the duration of his five-year sentence, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. The move follows Sarkozy's conviction for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, marking a dramatic reversal for France's one-time leader.
Nuñez explained that former presidents are entitled to ongoing security due to potential threats, and that Sarkozy's protection detail will continue to operate in shifts inside the prison. Sarkozy is being held in the isolation unit, where inmates have single cells and limited contact with others, further reducing his exposure to the general prison population. But the Independent reports that within hours of Sarkozy reporting to prison, a video posted online allegedly captured an inmate shouting, "We know everything—we're going to avenge Gadhafi. We know everything, Sarko, Ziad Takieddine, we know everything. Give back the billions of dollars."
Not everyone is happy with the arrangement. Prison guard unions have voiced strong objections, arguing that regular staff are fully capable of keeping inmates safe without outside help. As union leader Wilfried Fonck put it, "Today we have two civilians inside a prison who shouldn't be there. I've never seen anything like it in 25 years on the job." (Here's what Sarkozy packed to bring to prison.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
