New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy entered a prison in Paris on Tuesday to begin serving a 5-year sentence for a criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya - a historic moment that makes him the first ex-leader of modern France to be imprisoned.

Sarkozy, 70, was greeted by hundreds of supporters when he walked out of his Paris home earlier in the day hand-in-hand with his wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. He embraced her before getting into a police car.

Minutes later, the vehicle passed through the gates of the notorious La Sante prison - where Sarkozy will now serve his sentence in solitary confinement.

Sarkozy was convicted last month for criminal cons...