French ex-president Sarkozy begins jail sentence

This is slightly off-topic, but is it "jail" or "prison"? I see this switch all the time, and French does not make a difference. But, in English, and many other languages, jail is more specific than prison, and is usually for short term or pre-sentencing holding. If someone is sentenced, it's usually a different facility called "prison". Is BBC making a mistake, or are they actually saying Sarkozy will be held in in an actual jail?

At least in British English usage, there is no distinction between Jail, Gaol, and Prison other than at least one of these is a dated word.

I believe only the US has a strong distinction between Prison and Jail.

The relevant word here is "Prison", the French noun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Sant%C3%A9_Prison

The BBC article is using the two terms interchangably. Very few readers are concerned about the distinction you are making.

this is how I remember it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq2ICyCSSpM

for those who don't watch videos:

you go to jail if a cop doesn't like you. you can only go to prison if you're poor.