🔗 Share this article

The ex-president of France will soon publish a book this autumn named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time served behind bars.

The announcement emerged shortly after Sarkozy gained freedom while he appeals his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to secure election campaign funds linked to the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the account will focus on his musings while in solitary confinement instead of extensive analysis on the overcrowded and struggling French prison system.

“I forget silence, which is missing at the prison, where one hears endless commotion,” he adds. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, Sarkozy participated remotely from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

Historical Context

He, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was held in isolation due to safety concerns in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility located in the capital. Guards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed just yogurt during his stay worried that prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client every day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison rather than in custody. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, with a new trial set for the coming spring.