Greyness and solitude marked French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s three weeks in jail, in line with excerpts launched on Saturday from an upcoming ebook.
Sarkozy, 70, in October turned the primary president within the historical past of recent France to go to jail after his conviction for permitting aides to hunt to gather cash for his 2007 presidential election marketing campaign from Libyan chief Moamer Kadhafi.
He was handed a five-year sentence however was launched with restrictions after serving 20 days, following an appeals courtroom ruling that there was no flight threat.
He has written a 216-page ebook entitled “Diary of a Prisoner,” which is because of come out on December 10 and excerpts of which have been printed in a number of French media on Saturday.
“Grey dominated every part, devoured every part, coated each floor,” he wrote in a single passage. “I’d have given something to have the ability to look out the window, to get pleasure from watching the automobiles go by.”
During his first evening, he knelt in prayer after watching a soccer match.
“It got here naturally,” he wrote. “I stayed like that for a number of minutes. I prayed for the power to bear the cross of this injustice.”
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, was protected in jail by two safety officers and remained confined to his cell 23 hours a day, aside from visiting hours.
“It’s typically stated that you just study at any age. That’s true as a result of I discovered an excellent deal at La Sante jail, about others in addition to about myself,” he wrote.
His weight loss plan was made up of “dairy merchandise, cereal bars, mineral water, apple juice, and some candy treats.”
In an interview with Le Figaro, he stated that he wrote many of the ebook whereas behind bars, writing “with a ballpoint pen on a small plywood desk daily” and completed the ebook after his launch on November 10.
Sarkozy stays an influential determine on the fitting regardless of the authorized issues which have dogged him since leaving workplace.
Sarkozy has all the time maintained his innocence. An appeals trial is to get underway in March.
The former president has confronted a sequence of authorized challenges since leaving workplace.
