Nicolas Sarkozy has become the first French ex-president to go to jail, as he starts a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars.
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he will occupy a small cell in its isolation wing.
More than 100 people applauded and shouted Nicolas! as he left his villa in the exclusive 16th district of Paris, holding his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy by the hand.
His son Louis, 28, had appealed to supporters for a show of support, while another son, Pierre, called for a message of love – nothing else, please.
Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, was driven through the entrance of the notoriously overcrowded 19th-Century prison in the Montparnasse district south of the River Seine at 09:40 local time (07:40 GMT), while dozens of police officers cordoned off most of the surrounding streets.
He continues to protest his innocence in the highly controversial Libyan money affair and posted a message on X as he was driven to the jail, saying: I have no doubt. Truth will prevail. But how crushing the price will have been.
Moments after Sarkozy entered jail, his lawyer Christophe Ingrain said a request for his release had been filed. Nothing justified his imprisonment, said Mr Ingrain, adding: He'll be inside for at least three weeks or a month.
Sarkozy has said he wants no special treatment at La Santé prison, although he has been put in its isolation section for his safety as other inmates are infamous drugs dealers or have been convicted for terror offences.
Sarkozy's cell in the prison's isolation wing is believed to be on the top floor and will measure between 9-11 sq m (95-120 sq ft). There had earlier been talk of him serving his term in another wing for vulnerable people, where other VIPs have been jailed in the past.
He will have a toilet, a shower, a desk, a small electric hob, and a small TV, for which he will have to pay a monthly €14 (£12) fee, and the right to a small fridge.
The former president has the right to receive information from the outside world and family visits as well as written and phone contact. But he is in effect in solitary confinement, allowed just one hour a day for exercise, by himself in the wing's segregated courtyard.
At the end of last week, Sarkozy was received at the Élysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters it was normal that on a human level he should receive one of his predecessors in that context. Macron stressed he would not comment on judicial decisions, but acknowledged the significance of a former president being jailed.
In a further measure of official support for the ex-president, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would go to visit him in prison as part of his role in ensuring Sarkozy's safety and the proper functioning of the jail.
Ever since leaving office in 2012, Sarkozy has been embroiled in criminal inquiries and was recently convicted for trying to bribe a magistrate. Upcoming court rulings will determine his fate in related financial misconduct cases.
