🔗 Share this article Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Jail Diary Detailing His 20 Days Incarcerated The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir this autumn titled A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his experience endured behind bars. This news emerged just 11 days after the former president was released as he contests the guilty verdict related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to obtain election campaign funds linked to the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi. Time in Custody: Solitary Musings “Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, implying the memoir is more about his thoughts while in solitary confinement as opposed to a broader observation regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit jail system in France. “I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where there is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The racket unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.” Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal While appealing for release, Sarkozy participated remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this difficult experience tolerable – because it is a nightmare.” “It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact on any prisoner due to its intensity.” Historical Context He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail. Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he would use his time to compose an account. Cell Library Unconfirmed is did he manage to go through the texts he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, where a blameless person is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge. Prison Conditions The former leader was held in solitary confinement for his own security in a space roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in an adjacent room. Reports indicated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison due to concerns any food might have been spat on. Options were available for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if he will detail meals during incarceration. Legal Perspective The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “He received death threats, listened to yells during nighttime and the urgent intervention next door as a detainee harmed themselves.” Charges and Sentence His incarceration began last month after a French court gave him a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure election financing during his election campaign. He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for the coming spring.