Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first former French president in living memory to be imprisoned when he begins serving a five-year sentence in La Santé prison in Paris on Tuesday.

Last month Sarkozy was convicted of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

He maintains his innocence.

He will serve his time in La Santé prison in Paris.

Sarkozy told French newspaper Le Figaro that he expects to be held in solitary confinement, where he would be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons.

Another possibility is that he will be held in the prison's section for "vulnerable″ inmates, colloquially known as the VIP section.

Former La Santé inmates described their experiences and what the former president might expect to face.

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