The Former French President to Pen Prison Memoir Documenting Two Dozen Days Behind Bars
The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account this autumn titled A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time spent in jail.
This news came just 11 days after the former president left prison as his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration connected to efforts to obtain presidential race money from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts
“In prison visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, suggesting the memoir will focus on his musings from seclusion as opposed to wider commentary on the overcrowded and troubled French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where there is endless commotion,” he states. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is fortified while incarcerated.”
Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle
While appealing for release, the former leader participated via screen from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”
Historical Context
He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as former head from the EU 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.
Cell Library
It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the volumes he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.
Life in Confinement
The former leader remained in isolation for his own security in a cell approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in an adjacent room.
It was stated that he consumed solely dairy snacks during his stay due to concerns any food might have been spat on. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, who visited his client every day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings he would be safer out of prison rather than in custody. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Charges and Sentence
Sarkozy went to prison in late October after a Paris court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to obtain election financing during his election campaign.
He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial set for early next year.