The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Chronicling Three Weeks Incarcerated
The ex-president of France plans a personal account this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, detailing the period spent in jail.
The revelation emerged shortly after Sarkozy left prison as his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire political financing provided by the government of former Libyan leader.
Prison Experience: Solitary Musings
“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he reflects in a preview, implying the book is more about his reflections during solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis regarding the strained and troubled French prison system.
“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. But, just like the desert, inner life is fortified behind bars.”
Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle
At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated via screen from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience 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, it’s very hard. It has an impact every inmate due to its intensity.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president of an EU country and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.
Before entering jail he mentioned he intended to spend the period to compose an account.
Reading Material
It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the three books he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, where an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.
Life in Confinement
Sarkozy remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a room roughly 100 square feet featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail located in the capital. Guards stayed in an adjacent room.
Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay worried that meals provided might have been spat on. He had facilities for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.
Legal Perspective
Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “He received menacing messages, heard shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Legal Proceedings
Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when a French court imposed a half-decade term on conspiracy charges over a scheme to secure election financing during his election campaign.
He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case set for the coming spring.
