Supporters of convicted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy insisted he was "not a criminal" on Tuesday (October 21) morning, as the political figure is set to be taken to Paris' Sante prison to serve a sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING BEHIND METAL FENCE OUTSIDE HOME OF FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT, NICOLAS SARKOZY, ON MORNING OF HIS FIRST DAY IN PRISON

2. SARKOZY SUPPORTERS GATHERED NEAR HIS HOME

3. SARKOZY SUPPORTER, JACQUELINE FRABOULET, STANDING

4. SUPPORTERS GATHERED IN CROWD

5. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SARKOZY SUPPORTER, JACQUELINE FRABOULET, SAYING:

"Nicolas Sarkozy is not a criminal, although now, he is going to be incarcerated like a criminal. I contest the current legal decision, especially this one. We actually feel like the justice system is taking the power, and that's not good for France."

6. VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS GATHERED IN CROWD / JOURNALIST FILMING

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (RTL – No re-use after October 22, 2025 at 0415GMT / Must on-screen courtesy “RTL”)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PENITENTIARY ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR, SEBASTIEN CAUWEL, SAYING:

“He will be under a specific regime, an isolation regime, like other prisoners of these quarters, like around 100 other prisoners in France. That means that he will be alone in his cell, a cell that has until recently been occupied by another prisoner, that he will always have access to walks alone twice per day, he will have access to a recreation room alone, and in his cell, he will always be alone."

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a five-year sentence on Tuesday for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, arriving at La Sante prison in Paris in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012. (5479-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-PRISON-HIGHRES)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

8. NICOLAS SARKOZY AND WIFE, CARLA BRUNI, WALKING OUT OF HOUSE AS FRENCH NATIONAL ANTHEM IS SANG, SHAKING HANDS WITH OFFICERS

9. VARIOUS OF SARKOZY AND BRUNI WALKING, CROWD HEARD CHEERING

10. SARKOZY PREPARING TO ENTER CAR, CROWD CHEERING / SARKOZY HUGGING BRUNI THEN ENTERING CAR

11. POLICE CONVOY OF SARKOZY LEAVING TOWARDS SANTE PRISON

12. CONVOY LEAVING, SARKOZY WAVING FROM CAR

13. FRENCH FLAGS WITH TEXT READING (French): “Good luck, Nicolas, come back soon” AND “The true France with Nicolas”

14. BRUNI WALKING TOWARDS HOME

15. VARIOUS OF CONVOY MAKING WAY TO PRISON

16. CAR TRANSPORTING SARKOZY ENTERING PRISON

Sarkozy, who was convicted and sentenced last month, is the first former French leader to be jailed since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after World War Two. (5471-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-STILLS)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE)

17. STILL OF FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT, NICOLAS SARKOZY, AS HE LEAVES HOME TO HEAD TO PRISON

18. STILL OF SARKOZY HOLDING HANDS WITH WIFE, CARLA BRUNI, AS HE LEAVES HOME

19. VARIOUS STILLS OF SARKOZY WITH BRUNI, SARKOZY WAVING TO SUPPORTERS

20. STILL OF SARKOZY PREPARING TO ENTER CAR THAT WOULD TRANSPORT HIM TO PRISON

21. STILL OF SARKOZY AND BRUNI KISSING

Going to prison will not "break" Nicolas Sarkozy, his lawyer said on Tuesday as the conservative former French president was set to begin a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya. Lawyer Christophe Ingrain said he thought Sarkozy's determination to prove his innocence would be strengthened by the experience and he would be able to write from his prison cell about the experience and "the injustice of which he is a victim". (5421-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-LAWYER)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (BFMTV - Must on-screen courtesy 'BFMTV', news use only, no zooming, no new uses after 0630GMT October 22, 2025)

22.(SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, CHRISTOPHE INGRAIN, SAYING:

“If those who ordered the provisional execution of this sentence thought they would break him, break his spirit, break his determination, force him to bow his head, to admit to acts he didn't commit, then that's not going to happen. On the contrary, I think it strengthens his determination, it strengthens his rage, his rage. To show that he's innocent and to tell everyone and demonstrate his innocence in front of everyone.”

23. INGRAIN SPEAKING IN INTERVIEW

24. (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, CHRISTOPHE INGRAIN, SAYING (STARTS ON SPLIT SCREEN OF LAWYER AND JOURNALIST):

“And I think he has the will to write, so he'll have what he needs to write. He wants to write, to describe his experience, to write about what he's been through, to describe the injustice of which he is a victim.”

After Sarkozy left his home, supporters remained outside singing the French National Anthem and rising flags and posters with the image of the former President. (5426-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-GATHERING)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

25. SUPPORTERS OF FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY GATHERING OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE, SOME SINGING FRENCH NATIONAL ANTHEM

26. VARIOUS OF FORMER SARKOZY CAMPAIGN POSTER IN CROWD

27. (SOUNDBITE) (French) SARKOZY SUPPORTER FROM ESPALION IN SOUTH OF FRANCE, BEATRICE CROZAT, SAYING:

“It’s everything! It’s about demonstrating, to say 'No, we do not agree'. We can’t just stay behind our screens, as the trends seem to be biased, I’m choosing my words carefully. It’s better to mobilise, come out into the streets, say 'No, we do not agree'.”

Lawyers for former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said his imprisonment marked "a tragic day" for France's justice system, and an appeal to release him had already been filed on Tuesday, the day he arrived at Paris' La Sante prison. (5455-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-LAWYERS)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

28. LAWYERS FOR FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, JEAN-MICHEL DARROIS AND CHRISTOPHE INGRAIN, WALKING TO SPEAK TO JOURNALISTS

29. (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, JEAN-MICHEL DARROIS, SAYING:

"This is a tragic day for him, for France and for our institutions because this incarceration is a disgrace and what we hope with my colleague Christophe Ingrain is that the Court of Appeal will restore French justice to the dignity it deserves."

30. (SOUNDBITE) (French) LAWYER FOR FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY, CHRISTOPHE INGRAIN, SAYING:

"As we speak, Nicolas Sarkozy's request for release has been filed. From the moment he entered detention, the criteria justifying this detention do not apply. One might fear that he would not remain available to the justice system. At 9:35 a.m., a little earlier, he was in front of the remand centre to be incarcerated. There is no risk of a repeat of the events, no risk of destroying evidence, there is no evidence. No risk of pressuring witnesses. Nothing justifies the first hour of detention. He will be there for a minimum of three weeks or a month, since the Court of Appeal has two months to rule on a request for release, and the average time at the Paris Court of Appeal is one month. In any case, even if nothing justifies this detention, he will be there for a month. As Jean-Michel Darrois said, it is a very difficult moment."

31. INGRAIN SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST

Sarkozy maintained his innocence in a statement posted on X shortly before he arrived at the penitentiary centre, in which he said he was a victim of revenge and hatred.

"I want to tell them (French people), with the unshakeable strength that is mine, that it is not a former president of the Republic who is being imprisoned this morning — it is an innocent man," the statement read. (5452-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-STATEMENT)

INTERNET (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE - Access all) (MUTE)

32. X PAGE OF FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT, NICOLAS SARKOZY, SHOWING STATEMENT AHEAD OF IMPRISONMENT

33. SARKOZY'S X POST WITH STATEMENT

34. VARIOUS OF STATEMENT

While Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with close aides to orchestrate the scheme, he was acquitted of personally receiving or using the funds. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and has called the case politically motivated.

(5483-FRANCE-POLITICS/SARKOZY-PRISON-EXTERIORS)

PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 21, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

35. EXTERIORS OF LA SANTE PRISON, WHERE FORMER FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY IS IMPRISONED

36. PRISON SIGN

37. VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF LA SANTE PRISON

38. FRENCH AND EUROPEAN UNION FLAGS ON PRISON WALL

39. WINDOW WITH BARS

40. FRENCH MOTTO ON TOP OF PRISON WALL READING (French) "LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY”