Sarkozy enters jail over campaign financing - France's first ex-president behind bars

Nicolas Sarkozy, president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison.

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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 the 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".