The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Documenting Two Dozen Days Behind Bars

The ex-president of France plans a personal account this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time served in jail.

This news was made shortly following the former president gained freedom while his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure presidential race money provided by the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, indicating the memoir centers around his musings from solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he states. “The noise unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present remotely from a room in prison, describing his time inside as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It affects one all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he declared he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the texts he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned that he consumed solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming during nighttime and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

His incarceration began last month after the judiciary imposed five years in prison for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and another court case planned for the coming spring.