The Former French President Preparing to Release Prison Memoir Detailing His 20 Days Behind Bars
Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir next month called A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his experience served in custody.
This news came less than two weeks after Sarkozy gained freedom as he contests the guilty verdict on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain presidential race money from the regime of former Libyan leader.
Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts
“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the memoir is more about his reflections from isolation instead of wider commentary regarding the packed and troubled jail system in France.
“Silence escapes me, not present in that facility, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”
Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy had appeared by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as exhausting. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience manageable – as it truly is one.”
“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”
First of Its Kind
The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president of an EU country and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to compose an account.
Books in Prison
It is not certain if he found the opportunity to go through the texts he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the famous story, a plot where a blameless person is imprisoned then breaks out to take revenge.
Daily Reality
The former leader remained in solitary confinement to protect him in a cell roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.
It was stated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison due to concerns prison cuisine may have been contaminated. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if the memoir includes his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, Christophe Ingrain daily during the incarceration, informed the court he would be safer outside jail than inside. “There were menacing messages, listened to yells during nighttime plus rapid actions in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”
Case Background
Sarkozy went to prison in late October following the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to acquire election financing during his election campaign.
He disputes the charges challenging the decision, and another court case is scheduled for early next year.