Paris — France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy became the first previous head of a European Union state to be jailed on Tuesday, proclaiming his innocence as he entered a Paris prison. France's right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012, Sarkozy was found guilty last month of seeking to acquire funding from Muammmar Qaddafi's Libya for the campaign that saw him elected.

AFP journalists saw the 70-year-old — who has appealed the verdict — leave his home, and after a short drive flanked by police on motorbikes, enter the La Sante prison in the French capital.

"Welcome Sarkozy!", "Sarkozy's here," AFP reporters heard convicts shouting from their cells.

In a defiant message posted on social media as he was being transferred, Sarkozy again denied any wrongdoing.

"It is not a former presid

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