The Former French President Set to Write Prison Memoir Detailing Two Dozen Days Behind Bars

Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir this autumn called A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling the period spent in custody.

This news emerged less than two weeks following Sarkozy was released while he appeals the guilty verdict related to criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain election campaign funds linked to the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“In prison there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he notes in one passage, indicating the book centers around his musings during solitary confinement rather than wider commentary regarding the packed and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The racket persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is fortified while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

While appealing for release, Sarkozy had appeared by video link from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

The former president, who led the nation for a five-year term, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the texts he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

Sarkozy was placed in isolation to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns any food might have been spat on. Although he had access for self-catering yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if he will detail his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, informed the court security would be better outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming during nighttime plus rapid actions next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began on 21 October following a Paris court imposed five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to acquire political donations for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial planned for early next year.