Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Prison Memoir Chronicling His 20 Days Behind Bars

Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a book this autumn called A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his experience endured in jail.

The revelation came less than two weeks after the former president was released while he appeals the guilty verdict on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire presidential race money provided by the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“Behind bars one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he writes in a preview, indicating the account will focus on his musings from seclusion instead of extensive analysis regarding the overcrowded and struggling French prison system.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The racket persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, the former leader participated remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, showing great humanity, easing this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the volumes he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained in isolation for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in Paris. Guards were stationed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. He had facilities for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve released compared to inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

His incarceration began on 21 October when the judiciary imposed a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire election financing during his election campaign.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial set for the coming spring.