The Former French President Preparing to Release Prison Memoir Detailing Three Weeks Behind Bars
The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent in custody.
The revelation came just 11 days after the former president left prison while he appeals the court ruling on charges of unlawful coordination in a case to acquire political financing provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.
Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections
“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, implying the account is more about his thoughts while in isolation rather than wider commentary on the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.
“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is fortified behind bars.”
Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle
While appealing for release, the former leader was present by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”
“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It has an impact every inmate as it’s exhausting.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first former head in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure of France to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to compose an account.
Cell Library
It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.
Life in Confinement
The former leader remained secluded to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.
It was stated that he consumed only yoghurts in prison because he feared prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, who visited his client daily during the incarceration, informed the court he would be safer released than inside. “There were death threats, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Charges and Sentence
He entered custody last month when the judiciary gave him five years in prison for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.
He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for next spring.
