The Former French President Set to Write Prison Memoir Detailing Three Weeks Behind Bars
The ex-president of France will soon publish a memoir in the coming weeks titled Notes from a Cell, which recounts his time served in custody.
The announcement was made shortly following Sarkozy was released while he appeals the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration connected to efforts to acquire presidential race money from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections
“In prison there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in one passage, implying the memoir centers around his thoughts from solitary confinement instead of extensive analysis of the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life grows stronger in prison.”
Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle
While appealing for release, he was present remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as draining. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who have made this nightmare tolerable – as it truly is one.”
“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It affects one all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”
Unprecedented Situation
Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, was the first former head in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.
Books in Prison
It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, a plot where an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.
Daily Reality
Sarkozy remained secluded to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.
Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available for self-catering yet he declined, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, informed the court his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “He has faced threats against his life, has heard screaming after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Legal Proceedings
He entered custody on 21 October following the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.
He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.
