Nicolas Sarkozy Preparing to Release Jail Diary Documenting His 20 Days Incarcerated

The ex-president of France is preparing a book this autumn titled A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his time endured in custody.

The announcement emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to secure political financing from the regime of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“In prison one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he notes in a preview, indicating the account will focus on his musings while in solitary confinement as opposed to a broader observation on the packed and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in that facility, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The din unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, personal reflection is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, he was present remotely from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this ordeal bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural former head in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

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

Books in Prison

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, where a blameless person is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Daily Reality

He remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a room roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in the city. Guards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay worried that prison cuisine could have been tampered with. He had facilities to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain daily while he was in prison, informed the court security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “There were death threats, listened to yells at night and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began in late October after a Paris court sentenced him to a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial set for early next year.