The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Documenting Two Dozen Days Behind Bars
The ex-president of France plans a memoir this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent in jail.
The announcement came just 11 days following the ex-leader left prison as he appeals his conviction related to unlawful coordination connected to efforts to acquire political financing provided by the regime of the late Libyan dictator.
Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts
“Behind bars one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, indicating the book will focus on his musings while in solitary confinement as opposed to wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where noise is endless commotion,” he states. “The noise unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is fortified while incarcerated.”
Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship
While appealing for release, the former leader participated remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this nightmare manageable – because it is a nightmare.”
“It never crossed my mind 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 affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”
Unprecedented Situation
Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.
Reading Material
It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the texts he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.
Prison Conditions
The former leader remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a cell roughly 100 square feet including private facilities at La Santé prison located in the capital. Guards stayed in the next cell.
Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks during his stay due to concerns any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. Unclear remains if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.
Defense Viewpoint
The legal representative, who saw him regularly every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “He has faced threats against his life, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Case Background
Sarkozy went to prison last month after the judiciary imposed five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure campaign funds for his presidential bid.
He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and another court case is scheduled for the coming spring.
