Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will begin serving his sentence on Tuesday in connection with the case of illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, said he is “not afraid of prison.”

He made the statement in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche.

Sarkozy said he views his upcoming imprisonment as “a new chapter” in his life.

“I am not afraid of prison. I will hold my head high even before the gates of the Santé prison,” he added.

The former French president said in the interview that he does not want to complain or seek pity while serving his sentence. According to La Tribune Dimanche, he plans to write a book while in prison.

On September 25, Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by Libya. He will begin serving his sentence on October 21 at the Santé prison in Paris’s 16th arrondissement.

Sarkozy, the first former president in modern French history to be sentenced to prison, maintains his innocence and has appealed the ruling.

However, the Paris court ruled that the sentence takes effect immediately rather than being suspended pending appeal, citing “the seriousness of the disturbance to public order caused by the crime.”