🔗 Share this article

The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account this autumn named A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his time spent in custody.

The revelation emerged shortly following Sarkozy left prison while he appeals the court ruling related to illegal collaboration in a case to acquire political financing from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“In prison one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in a preview, implying the memoir centers around his thoughts from solitary confinement rather than wider commentary of the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in that facility, where one hears endless commotion,” he states. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is strengthened in prison.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, he was present via screen from inside the facility, depicting prison life as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare tolerable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, set a precedent as former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII from France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he mentioned he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the texts he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to take revenge.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy remained in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten only yoghurts while inside because he feared prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Legal Perspective

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail than inside. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

He entered custody on 21 October after a Paris court imposed five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to acquire campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial is scheduled for the coming spring.