The Former French President Set to Write Prison Memoir Chronicling Three Weeks Incarcerated
Nicolas Sarkozy plans a personal account this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period spent behind bars.
This news came just 11 days following Sarkozy left prison while he contests his conviction related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure political financing provided by the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the book centers around his thoughts while in solitary confinement as opposed to wider commentary on the strained and struggling correctional facilities in the country.
“Quiet is absent, which is missing in La Santé, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The noise unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is fortified in prison.”
Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship
During his plea for freedom, he was present via screen from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience bearable – as it truly is one.”
“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”
First of Its Kind
Sarkozy, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president from the EU and the first postwar leader from France to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he would use his time to compose an account.
Books in Prison
It is not certain whether he had time to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.
Life in Confinement
He was held in isolation to protect him in a room approximately nine square meters including private facilities at the correctional facility in Paris. Two bodyguards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.
Reports indicated that he consumed just yogurt during his stay because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, according to reports. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Legal Perspective
The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain every day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer released compared to inside. “He received death threats, listened to yells during nighttime and emergency responses in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”
Case Background
Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October after a Paris court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure political donations for his presidential bid.
He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial planned for early next year.
