The Former French President Set to Write Prison Memoir Detailing Three Weeks Behind Bars
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his experience served in jail.
The announcement was made shortly following Sarkozy left prison as his appeal proceeds his conviction on charges of illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire presidential race money provided by the leadership of former Libyan leader.
Prison Experience: Solitary Musings
“Behind bars visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he notes in a preview, indicating the book centers around his musings while in solitary confinement rather than wider commentary on the packed and struggling French prison system.
“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where noise is endless commotion,” he states. “The racket unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is strengthened while incarcerated.”
Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship
At his release request hearing, the former leader participated remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as gruelling. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this ordeal bearable – as it truly is one.”
“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship I must endure. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It affects one on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who led the nation for a five-year term, was the first past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail.
Before entering jail he had said he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.
Reading Material
It is not certain whether he had time to go through the texts he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the famous story, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
He remained secluded for his own security in a cell roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.
It was stated that he consumed solely dairy snacks in prison worried that meals provided might have been spat on. Although he had access to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
The legal representative, who visited his client every day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings he would be safer out of prison than inside. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts after dark plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Legal Proceedings
He entered custody in late October following a Paris court gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.
He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial set for the coming spring.