The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Documenting Two Dozen Days In Custody

Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a book next month called Notes from a Cell, which recounts his experience spent behind bars.

The announcement came just 11 days following the former president was released while his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in a preview, implying the book centers around his thoughts during isolation instead of a broader observation on the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, not present at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The noise unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is fortified in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, the former leader had appeared by video link from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, easing this ordeal manageable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the three books he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work the famous story, a plot where an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

Sarkozy was held in isolation for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.

Reports indicated his diet consisted only yoghurts while inside because he feared any food might have been spat on. Although he had access for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail than inside. “He received menacing messages, heard shouts at night and emergency responses in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a French court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial planned for early next year.