The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Documenting Two Dozen Days Incarcerated
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time spent behind bars.
This news came just 11 days following the ex-leader left prison as his appeal proceeds his conviction for illegal collaboration in a case to obtain election campaign funds from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings
“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, indicating the memoir centers around his reflections from isolation as opposed to a broader observation regarding the strained and troubled jail system in France.
“Quiet is absent, not present in La Santé, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified in prison.”
Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal
While appealing for release, Sarkozy participated remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, showing great humanity, easing this ordeal manageable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”
First of Its Kind
He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.
Before entering jail he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account.
Reading Material
It is not certain whether he had time to read and critique the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the famous story, where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
He was held secluded for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.
It was stated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison due to concerns meals provided may have been contaminated. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.
Lawyer’s Statements
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “He received menacing messages, has heard screaming after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”
Legal Proceedings
His incarceration began in late October following a French court imposed a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure election financing during his election campaign.
He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case is scheduled for next spring.
