The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Chronicling Two Dozen Days Behind Bars
The ex-president of France plans a personal account next month titled A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing the period served in custody.
The announcement came shortly after the former president left prison while he appeals his conviction for unlawful coordination regarding a scheme to secure political financing from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he writes in a preview, indicating the memoir centers around his thoughts while in seclusion rather than a broader observation on the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where one hears a lot to hear,” he states. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”
Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present by video link from his cell, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”
Historical Context
The former president, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.
Prior to imprisonment he declared he would use his time for authoring a memoir.
Cell Library
It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the texts he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to exact retribution.
Life in Confinement
The former leader was held in isolation for his own security in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied the next cell.
Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay due to concerns meals provided may have been contaminated. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, according to reports. Not known is if he will detail what he ate in prison.
Legal Perspective
Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve out of prison rather than in custody. “There were death threats, has heard screaming at night and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Legal Proceedings
His incarceration began last month following the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to acquire campaign funds during his election campaign.
He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial is scheduled for the coming spring.
