Nicolas Sarkozy Set to Write Prison Memoir Documenting Three Weeks Behind Bars
The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month called Notes from a Cell, chronicling the period endured behind bars.
The revelation emerged just 11 days following Sarkozy left prison while he appeals his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds linked to the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Behind bars one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he notes in one passage, suggesting the account centers around his reflections from solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis of the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.
“I forget silence, not present at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger while incarcerated.”
Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal
At his release request hearing, the former leader participated by video link from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience manageable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner due to its intensity.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.
Prior to imprisonment he declared he intended to spend the period to write a book.
Books in Prison
Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a blameless person ends up incarcerated then breaks out to exact retribution.
Daily Reality
Sarkozy remained secluded for his own security in a cell roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail in Paris. Security personnel occupied an adjacent room.
Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, who saw him regularly daily throughout the jail term, informed the court security would be better released than inside. “He received menacing messages, listened to yells after dark plus rapid actions next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”
Legal Proceedings
Sarkozy went to prison in late October following a French court sentenced him to a half-decade term for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure campaign funds for his presidential bid.
He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial is scheduled for the coming spring.
