🔗 Share this article

Nicolas Sarkozy plans a book in the coming weeks titled A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time spent in jail.

This news emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison while he appeals his conviction on charges of unlawful coordination in a case to secure presidential race money from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“Behind bars visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he writes in an extract, indicating the memoir is more about his reflections from seclusion rather than wider commentary regarding the packed and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he adds. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, the former leader participated via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this nightmare manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact every inmate due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he would use his time to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was held secluded for his own security in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell.

It was stated his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay because he feared meals provided may have been contaminated. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Legal Perspective

His attorney, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings security would be better out of prison than inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming during nighttime plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

He entered custody last month after a French court sentenced him to five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, with a new trial planned for early next year.