Crowds gathered outside the Paris home of France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday, hours before he was set to be jailed after being found guilty of seeking to acquire Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential run.

Sarkozy, France's right-wing leader from 2007 to 2012, is to become the first EU first former head of an EU country to serve time behind bars.

He was handed a five-year jail term in September for criminal conspiracy over a plan for late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his electoral campaign.

The 70-year-old, who has appealed the verdict and denounced an "injustice", is to be incarcerated in La Sante prison in Paris.

"If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison -- but with my head held high," he told the press after his September 25 verdict.

Dozens of supporters stood outside the former president's home on Tuesday morning, some holding up framed portraits of him.

They sang the French national anthem, as neighbours looked on from their balconies.

"This is truly a........

© International Business Times