Nicolas Sarkozy Set to Write Prison Memoir Detailing Two Dozen Days Behind Bars
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks named Notes from a Cell, detailing his time spent behind bars.
The revelation emerged shortly after the ex-leader was released as his appeal proceeds his conviction related to unlawful coordination connected to efforts to acquire election campaign funds from the regime of former Libyan leader.
Time in Custody: Personal Reflections
“Behind bars one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in one passage, suggesting the account centers around his thoughts from isolation as opposed to wider commentary on the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The racket is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life is fortified behind bars.”
Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy had appeared by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare tolerable – 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. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It leaves a mark every inmate due to its intensity.”
First of Its Kind
He, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural former head of an EU country 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.
Books in Prison
Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the volumes he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, a plot where a blameless person ends up incarcerated then breaks out to exact retribution.
Life in Confinement
He remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.
It was stated his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison because he feared any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities to cook for himself yet he declined, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, Christophe Ingrain daily during the incarceration, told the release hearing security would be better outside jail than inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Case Background
He entered custody last month when the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.
He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for early next year.
