The Former French President to Pen Prison Memoir Detailing Three Weeks Behind Bars

The ex-president of France plans a memoir this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time spent behind bars.

The revelation emerged shortly after Sarkozy gained freedom as his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain political financing provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in one passage, indicating the book will focus on his reflections during solitary confinement instead of extensive analysis regarding the packed and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, not present in La Santé, where noise is endless commotion,” he states. “The racket persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, personal reflection grows stronger in prison.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, the former leader was present via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this difficult experience tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader from the EU and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated later flees to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

He was placed secluded to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in the city. Guards stayed in the next cell.

It was stated his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. He had facilities for self-catering but refused this, as per accounts. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Legal Perspective

His attorney, who saw him regularly every day during the incarceration, told the release hearing he would be safer released than inside. “He received menacing messages, heard shouts after dark and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

His incarceration began in late October following a Paris court imposed a half-decade term on conspiracy charges over a scheme to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial set for the coming spring.