Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, set to start a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of attempting to raise campaign funds from Libya in 2007, said he is not afraid of going to jail, La Tribune Dimanche reported, Reuters reported.

Sarkozy, who is due to be incarcerated at Paris's Sante prison on October 21, told the newspaper he had already packed his bags and feels calm ahead of the start of his sentence.

"I am not afraid of prison. I will hold my head high, even in front of the gates of Sante," Sarkozy said, adding he will not ask for any special privileges, according to Reuters.