Inmate Issues Death Threats Against Sarkozy at Paris Prison, Probe Launched

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been targeted by death threats from an inmate at Paris’s La Santé prison, where he began serving his sentence this week, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

According to prosecutors, prison authorities alerted them on October 22 after a video surfaced on social media showing an inmate making threats toward Sarkozy upon his arrival at the facility. The footage was reportedly filmed inside the prison.

As part of the investigation, three inmates were questioned and two mobile phones were confiscated during a search of the premises, officials said.

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, began a five-year prison term on Tuesday after being convicted of conspiring to secure campaign funds from Libya. He has been assigned two armed police officers for protection during his incarceration—a move that has drawn criticism from prison guard unions.