Nicolas Sarkozy Set to Write Jail Diary Chronicling Three Weeks Incarcerated

The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month called Notes from a Cell, chronicling his time spent in custody.

The announcement emerged shortly after Sarkozy left prison while his appeal proceeds the court ruling for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the memoir will focus on his reflections while in isolation instead of a broader observation on the overcrowded and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present in La Santé, where there is a lot to hear,” he states. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified in prison.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy had appeared remotely from his cell, describing his time inside as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It leaves a mark every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

He, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure from France to experience jail.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Cell Library

It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which a blameless person is imprisoned then breaks out to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy remained secluded for his own security in a cell of about nine sq metres including private facilities at the correctional facility located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals yet he declined, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain every day during the incarceration, informed the court his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October after the judiciary imposed five years in prison for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to obtain election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial set for early next year.