Former French President Sarkozy was imprisoned on the 21st. Sources said he visited Macron last week

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is about to serve his prison sentence. Sources said that he recently visited President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.

French government sources told AFP on Monday (October 20) that Sarkozy was received at the Elysee Palace last Friday (October 17), but did not provide more details.

Sarkozy was convicted of conspiracy at the end of September for conspiring with the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his 2007 election campaign. He thus became the first former head of state of an EU country to serve a prison sentence.

Sarkozy served as the president of France from 2007 to 2012. After his failed re-election campaign, he was embroiled in legal disputes, but still had some popularity within the right-wing camp in France.

He will leave his residence in Paris on Tuesday morning (the 21st) and go to La Sante Prison to serve his sentence. His family called on his supporters to show their support for him at that time.

Earlier reports quoted prison staff as saying that Sarkozy might be held in a nine-square-meter cell in a solitary confinement area.

Sarkozy has appealed against the court's ruling. It is still unclear how long he will serve in prison, but his legal team is expected to submit a release application immediately after his imprisonment.