The French president's cell and the place of the guillotine executions. 5 Facts about Santa's Prison

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy begins serving a five-year term on October 21 on charges of illegally financing the presidential campaign. He himself will arrive at the Sante prison in Paris, where he will be in solitary confinement. Sante is one of the most notorious places of detention, where mass executions and suicides were committed. What is known about the prison is in the Izvestia article.

Fact 1. The last prison in Paris

• Sante Prison is located in the south of Paris, in the historic Montparnasse quarter, known for its bohemian atmosphere. Popular attractions such as the Paris Observatory and the Catacombs are within walking distance. Once upon a time, the "House of Health" was located in its place, which gave the name to Santa Street (translated from French — "health"). According to her, the prison got its ironic name.

• The Sante was built in 1867 by architect Emile Vaudremer, who designed many other iconic buildings for Paris. Initially, it was designed for 500 prisoners, but by the beginning of the 20th century it was expanded to 2,000 places to accommodate convicts from closed prisons. Sante also served as a transfer point for convicts to French Guiana and was a place of execution. Over time, it remained the only operating prison within the borders of Paris.

Fact 2. The place of the death penalty

It was Santa's regular executions of prisoners that earned her a sinister reputation. In the first decades of the 20th century, they were still committed right at the nearest street intersection, where a guillotine was rolled out of the dungeons along the rails. About 40 people were publicly executed in this way. However, one day Parisians suddenly lost this bloody sight. In 1932, the criminal Eugene Boyer was supposed to be beheaded. It was on the day of the execution that French President Paul Doumer died as a result of an assassination attempt by Russian emigrant Pavel Gorgulov. Since the president could theoretically pardon Boyer, the execution had to be postponed. The next head of state, Albert Lebrun, nevertheless spared the prisoner's life, and in return, after some time, Gorgulov was executed.

The United States is sending criminals to El Salvador. What you Need to know about the CECOT Megathorm

• In 1939, public executions were banned in France, but they continued inside Sante. During the Second World War, the French executioners were replaced by the German occupiers. 18 French resistance fighters and Communists were beheaded and shot within the walls of the prison. After the occupation, the Sante guillotine continued to operate until 1973, when one of the last executions in France took place.

Fact 3. Harsh conditions of detention

• In addition to the executions, Sante Prison is famous for its appalling conditions. So, in 1999, 124 of its prisoners committed suicide at once. There are two blocks in the prison, in one of which convicts can contact each other, and in the other they are exclusively in single cells measuring 2.5 by 4 m. Until 2000, Santa was divided by race — four separate blocks contained Europeans, black Africans, North Africans and all the rest.

The separation was lifted after prison doctor Veronique Wasser published a book detailing Santa's inner state. The publication caused shock among the French. They learned from it that four people were often held in solitary cells at once. They were forced to fill up the cracks to escape from the rats, and because of the rare opportunity to take a shower, skin diseases flourished among the prisoners. Some complained that the guards often used tear gas. Wasser also spoke about cases of weak prisoners being turned into slaves and widespread rape. In the future, the situation in Santa has changed for the better, but so far it remains the last place where a resident of France would like to go.

Fact 4. Rare shoots

In the entire century-and-a-half-long history of Santa, prisoners managed to escape from it only three times. In 1927, this was done by Leon Daudet, the son of writer Alphonse Daudet, a prominent journalist and politician of the time, and a former member of the French Parliament. Four years earlier, his son Philippe had committed suicide, but Daudet blamed his political opponents for his murder. The court considered this slander and sentenced the politician to five months in prison in Santa. Just 13 days after his imprisonment, Daudet's supporters hacked the prison's telephone system, reached its director and convinced him that the Interior minister had allegedly allowed Daudet to be secretly released along with journalist Joseph Delest and communist Pierre Semard. After that, Daudet hid in Belgium.

From the Elysee Palace to the camera: Sarkozy went to prison

He will serve his sentence in La Santa, where famous prisoners of France were held.

The next escape took place in 1978. It was organized by the most notorious bandit of his time, Jacques Mesrin, guilty of numerous robberies and murders. He has already escaped from prisons and courtrooms more than once, and he did it again when he found himself in Santa. Thanks to an accomplice, he managed to get hold of a pistol and hooks on a rope. Together with two prisoners Francois Bessom and Carmen Reeves, they climbed over a 14-meter wall. Reeves was immediately killed on the street by police, and Mesrin and Bess escaped— the first to Sicily, and the second to Belgium. Mesrin was found and killed by police officers the following year, and Bess, having served all the required time, lives at large in France.

• The most incredible escape was made by Michel Vaujour, convicted of armed robbery. He ended up in Santa after four escapes from other prisons. For the fifth time, his wife Nadine helped him. She specially learned how to fly a helicopter, taking lessons under a false name, and flew to her husband one day in 1986. Vaujour was prepared and distracted the guards by threatening to detonate a grenade, which turned out to be a recolored nectarine. The criminal climbed onto the roof and clung to the skid of a hovering helicopter, which took him to a prepared car. The couple hid in Paris for several months, but eventually they were detained during an attempted robbery.

Fact 5. Maintenance of VIP prisoners

• All these conditions of detention do not apply to those who are serving their sentences in the so-called VIP sector. It has 19 cells similar to the rest of the prison, but it houses particularly sensitive prisoners who need protection from their cellmates: convicted sex offenders, police officers, informants. There are such blocks in many prisons in France, but special attention is focused on them in Santa, as celebrities such as former French President Nicolas Sarkozy often find themselves there.

On October 21, Sarkozy, who was sentenced to five years in prison, arrived in Sante on his own. He will be held in solitary confinement, equipped with a chair, a shower, a refrigerator, a stove and a TV with pay-per-view channels. Sarkozy is allowed to have a phone, but he will only call approved contacts. The former president will be able to make two visits a week and walk for one hour in the courtyard. Before entering the cell, Sarkozy underwent a full search, during which he completely undressed in front of the guards. He plans to spend his time in prison writing a book.