The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Detailing Three Weeks In Custody
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account next month called A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his experience spent in custody.
This news emerged just 11 days following the former president left prison as he contests his conviction on charges of illegal collaboration connected to efforts to obtain election campaign funds provided by the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts
“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, indicating the book centers around his thoughts from solitary confinement rather than extensive analysis of the strained and struggling correctional facilities in the country.
“Quiet is absent, not present in that facility, where there is constant sound,” he states. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life grows stronger while incarcerated.”
Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy had appeared by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”
“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It leaves a mark on any prisoner due to its intensity.”
Historical Context
He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, was the first former head from the EU and the first postwar leader from France to serve time in prison.
Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he intended to spend the period to write a book.
Reading Material
It is not certain whether he had time to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.
Life in Confinement
The former leader was held in solitary confinement for his own security in a space approximately nine square meters including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in a neighbouring cell.
Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay worried that prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if the memoir includes his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
The legal representative, who saw him regularly every day while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve outside jail than inside. “He has faced threats against his life, has heard screaming during nighttime and emergency responses next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”
Case Background
Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following a French court gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain political donations during his election campaign.
He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial planned for the coming spring.
