Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Prison Memoir Documenting His 20 Days Behind Bars
The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month named Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period spent in custody.
The revelation was made just 11 days after Sarkozy left prison as he appeals his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain presidential race money from the regime of former Libyan leader.
Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections
“In prison there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in one passage, implying the account will focus on his musings from solitary confinement instead of extensive analysis of the overcrowded and struggling correctional facilities in the country.
“Silence escapes me, which is missing at the prison, where there is constant sound,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.”
Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal
While appealing for release, the former leader was present via screen from his cell, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”
Historical Context
He, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural ex-leader from the EU and the first leader since WWII from France to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to compose an account.
Books in Prison
Unconfirmed is did he manage to go through the volumes he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.
Prison Conditions
Sarkozy remained secluded due to safety concerns in a cell approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.
Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that meals provided may have been contaminated. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
The legal representative, who saw him regularly every day while he was in prison, informed the court he would be safer out of prison than inside. “He received death threats, heard shouts during nighttime plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Case Background
He entered custody last month when a Paris court imposed a half-decade term on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire election financing during his election campaign.
He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial set for next spring.