The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Documenting His 20 Days Behind Bars

The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account next month called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period served in jail.

This news came just 11 days following the ex-leader left prison while he appeals his conviction on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to secure political financing linked to the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, indicating the account centers around his reflections during isolation instead of a broader observation of the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where noise is constant sound,” he states. “The racket unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is strengthened in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, he was present via screen from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He had told the court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who have made this difficult experience bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, was the first past president in the European Union and the first postwar leader of France to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Reading Material

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a blameless person is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

The former leader was held secluded due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.

It was stated that he consumed only yoghurts during his stay worried that prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing he would be safer released than inside. “He has faced menacing messages, has heard screaming after dark and emergency responses next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

He entered custody last month after a Paris court sentenced him to five years in prison on conspiracy charges related to a plan to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for the coming spring.