The Former French President to Pen Prison Memoir Documenting Three Weeks Incarcerated
Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time spent in jail.
The announcement came shortly following the ex-leader gained freedom as he appeals his conviction on charges of illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire election campaign funds from the government of former Libyan leader.
Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts
“In prison there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, implying the account centers around his thoughts during solitary confinement rather than a broader observation on the strained and troubled French prison system.
“I forget silence, which is missing in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The racket is alas constant. But, just like the desert, personal reflection grows stronger while incarcerated.”
Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle
At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated via screen from a room in prison, describing his time inside as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It leaves a mark all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”
First of Its Kind
He, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, set a precedent as former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII from France to be incarcerated.
Before entering jail he declared he intended to spend the period to write a book.
Cell Library
It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the three books he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to exact retribution.
Daily Reality
The former leader was held in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities in the Paris jail in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.
Sources mentioned that he had eaten only yoghurts in prison worried that meals provided could have been tampered with. Options were available for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Defense Viewpoint
Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “He received threats against his life, heard shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Charges and Sentence
He entered custody in late October after the judiciary sentenced him to a half-decade term on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure campaign funds during his election campaign.
He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial set for the coming spring.
