🔗 Share this article

Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a personal account next month called A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his experience served behind bars.

The announcement came less than two weeks following Sarkozy gained freedom while he contests his conviction related to illegal collaboration in a case to acquire presidential race money linked to the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“In prison there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he notes in an extract, implying the memoir is more about his reflections during solitary confinement instead of a broader observation on the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which is missing in that facility, where there is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise is alas constant. But, just like the desert, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, he participated via screen from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is did he manage to go through the volumes he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to take revenge.

Daily Reality

The former leader was held secluded for his own security in a space roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility located in the capital. Guards stayed in a neighbouring cell.

It was stated his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay worried that any food could have been tampered with. Options were available for self-catering but refused this, as per accounts. Not known is if he will detail his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, informed the court he would be safer out of prison than inside. “There were menacing messages, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began last month following the judiciary imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure political donations for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case is scheduled for next spring.