Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy described the 21 days he spent in prison as “hell.”
Modern.az reports that he wrote about this in his new book titled “A Prisoner's Diary.” Excerpts from the book were published in "Politico." The book is expected to be released on December 10.
Sarkozy writes that he had difficulty adapting to solitary confinement conditions, and the noise in the prison, along with the behavior of other inmates, had a psychological impact on him.
He notes that the inmate in the neighboring cell “spent half the time singing songs from The Lion King cartoon and the other half banging a spoon against the iron bars.” The former president writes that he once tried to open the cell window but “immediately regretted it”: “The atmosphere was terrible. Welcome to hell!”
Sarkozy also states that he was not satisfied with the cell conditions, complaining about the hard mattress, pillows made of plastic-like material, and poor-quality blankets. He even writes that he did not accept the prison food: “I didn't miss much. The food brought in small plastic trays was not appetizing. The smell repelled me, and the baguette provided was soggy.”
The 70-year-old former president was found guilty on September 25 of “participation in a criminal group” for the financing of his election campaign with funds from Libya, but the illegal financing of the 2007 campaign was not confirmed. The court sentenced him to five years in prison. Sarkozy began serving his sentence on October 21 at Santé prison in the 14th arrondissement of Paris and remained there for 21 days.
On November 10, the Paris Court of Appeal granted his lawyers' request, ruling to suspend Sarkozy's imprisonment and release him under judicial supervision. According to the conditions, he cannot leave France and cannot communicate with any Minister of Justice, including Gérald Darmanin, who visited him in prison. The appeal hearing for the September verdict will take place in March 2026.
