🔗 Share this article

The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account next month named Diary of a Prisoner, detailing his experience endured in jail.

The revelation emerged shortly after Sarkozy gained freedom while he contests the court ruling for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain political financing linked to the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he writes in one passage, indicating the account centers around his reflections during seclusion as opposed to a broader observation regarding the packed and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present in La Santé, where there is constant sound,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is strengthened behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, he had appeared by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader from the EU and the first postwar leader of France to experience jail.

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

Books in Prison

It remains unclear whether he had time to go through the volumes he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was placed in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a space approximately nine square meters including private facilities at the correctional facility located in the capital. Security personnel stayed in a neighbouring cell.

It was stated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks in prison because he feared prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Although he had access to cook for himself but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client each day throughout the jail term, informed the court his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “He has faced threats against his life, listened to yells after dark and emergency responses next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began on 21 October following the judiciary imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration related to a plan to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial set for early next year.