🔗 Share this article

The ex-president of France plans a personal account this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his experience spent in custody.

This news emerged less than two weeks after Sarkozy was released while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to secure presidential race money provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the account will focus on his musings while in seclusion rather than extensive analysis of the packed and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is fortified behind bars.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy participated by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this difficult experience bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It has an impact every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

The former president, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, set a precedent as former head of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is did he manage to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a blameless person is sentenced to jail but escapes to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained secluded due to safety concerns in a cell approximately nine square meters including private facilities at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.

Reports indicated that he had eaten only yoghurts during his stay worried that any food may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain every day during the incarceration, informed the court his safety would improve released compared to inside. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime plus rapid actions next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison last month following a Paris court imposed five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for early next year.