Nicolas Sarkozy Preparing to Release Jail Diary Chronicling Three Weeks In Custody

The ex-president of France will soon publish a book next month called Notes from a Cell, which recounts the period spent in custody.

This news was made less than two weeks after the ex-leader left prison while he appeals the court ruling on charges of criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to obtain election campaign funds from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he notes in an extract, indicating the book will focus on his reflections from isolation instead of wider commentary of the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where one hears a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, he had appeared by video link from his cell, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this ordeal bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Historical Context

He, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, set a precedent as ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII from France to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the texts he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, where a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned then breaks out to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

He was held secluded to protect him in a space roughly 100 square feet including private facilities in the Paris jail in Paris. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt while inside worried that prison cuisine might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if the memoir includes his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

The legal representative, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, informed the court he would be safer released compared to inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a Paris court sentenced him to a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and a fresh trial planned for next spring.