The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Chronicling Two Dozen Days In Custody
Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a personal account this autumn called Notes from a Cell, detailing his experience endured in custody.
The announcement came just 11 days after Sarkozy was released as he contests the court ruling related to illegal collaboration in a case to secure election campaign funds linked to the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.
Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts
“Behind bars one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, implying the book will focus on his thoughts from solitary confinement as opposed to wider commentary on the packed and struggling jail system in France.
“I forget silence, which is missing in La Santé, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.”
Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle
At his release request hearing, the former leader was present via screen from a room in prison, describing his time inside as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”
“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 admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It leaves a mark on any prisoner due to its intensity.”
First of Its Kind
Sarkozy, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president in the European Union and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.
Books in Prison
It remains unclear did he manage to go through the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person ends up incarcerated later flees to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
Sarkozy was placed secluded for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied a neighbouring cell.
It was stated that he consumed just yogurt during his stay because he feared meals provided may have been contaminated. He had facilities to cook for himself but refused this, according to reports. Not known is if the memoir includes his dietary choices.
Legal Perspective
The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail than inside. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Legal Proceedings
His incarceration began in late October after a French court imposed a half-decade term on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to secure political donations during his election campaign.
He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial set for the coming spring.
