The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Chronicling His 20 Days Incarcerated

Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his experience endured behind bars.

This news emerged just 11 days following the ex-leader was released as his appeal proceeds the court ruling on charges of criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure presidential race money provided by the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, indicating the account is more about his thoughts during seclusion rather than extensive analysis regarding the strained and troubled jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, not present at the prison, where one hears a lot to hear,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated by video link from his cell, depicting prison life as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader in the European Union and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he mentioned he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

The former leader remained in isolation for his own security in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in Paris. Guards stayed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to cook for himself yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail his dietary choices.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client each day throughout the jail term, informed the court he would be safer outside jail than inside. “There were death threats, has heard screaming during nighttime and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison last month following a French court gave him a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial set for early next year.