Nicolas Sarkozy to publish book about his 20 days in prison

"The book was announced 11 days after the former French president was released from prison while he appeals against his conviction for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In prison there is nothing to see, and nothing to do, he writes in an extract, which suggests the account will be more his musings from his solitary confinement cell than a broader observation of the overcrowded and crisis-hit French prison system."

"He had told the court: I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable because it is a nightmare. I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I'd be in prison. It's an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it's hard, it's very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it's gruelling."

"Sarkozy, who served as France's rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, was the first former head of an EU country and the first postwar leader of France to serve time in prison. Before entering jail he had said he would use his time to write a book. It is not certain whether he had time to read and critique the three books he took into prison with him: a biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas's novel"

Nicolas Sarkozy will publish A Prisoner's Diary recounting his 20 days in jail while appealing a conviction for criminal conspiracy linked to alleged Libyan campaign funds. The account centers on solitary confinement at La Sante prison, where he describes constant noise, limited activity, and an inward-focused inner life. He appeared by video at a release hearing, praising prison staff as exceptionally humane and calling the experience a nightmare that leaves a lasting mark. Sarkozy had said he would write in jail and took three books with him; he was housed in a small cell with his own facilities and security detail.

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