🔗 Share this article

Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his experience served behind bars.

The announcement came less than two weeks following the former president gained freedom as his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds provided by the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail one sees little, and nothing to do,” he writes in an extract, implying the book will focus on his musings from seclusion as opposed to a broader observation of the overcrowded and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in that facility, where one hears endless commotion,” he continues. “The noise is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is fortified in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle

While appealing for release, Sarkozy had appeared remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare manageable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the first leader since WWII from France to be incarcerated.

Before entering jail he mentioned he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained secluded to protect him in a cell roughly 100 square feet including private facilities at the correctional facility in Paris. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.

It was stated his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay because he feared any food might have been spat on. Although he had access to prepare his own meals yet he declined, as per accounts. It is uncertain if the memoir includes his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who visited his client daily throughout the jail term, informed the court he would be safer released than inside. “He received threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when a Paris court imposed a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case planned for the coming spring.