PARIS, FRANCE—Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has broken his silence on his brief, unprecedented time behind bars, publishing a searing 216-page memoir that describes the prison as a harsh, “all-grey” world of “inhuman violence” and “deafening noise.”
The book, titled Diary of a Prisoner, was released Wednesday, drawing hundreds of fervent supporters who queued in an upscale Paris neighborhood for the former head of state’s first book signing. The memoir recounts the 70-year-old’s 20 days inside Paris’s infamous La Santé prison following his September conviction for criminal association related to the illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya.
The Nightmare of Solitary Confinement
Sarkozy, who was granted release under judicial supervision on appeal, was held in solitary confinement for his security, strictly isolated from other inmates. The book provides a rare, intimate view of a former president stripped of all pomp and circumstance, describing conditions that were both physically austere and psychologically draining.
- The Cell: He wrote that his cell was similar to a “cheap hotel, except for the armored door and the bars.” It featured a hard mattress (“a table would have been almost softer”), a thin shower that stopped quickly, a small desk, and a television.
- The Sensory Assault: Sarkozy repeatedly emphasized the “deafening noise” that penetrated his isolation. Upon opening his window on the first day, he heard a neighboring inmate “relentlessly striking the bars of his cell with a metal object,” leading him to conclude: “The atmosphere was threatening. Welcome to hell!”
- The Diet: The former president confessed he declined the meals served on small plastic trays with a “mushy, soggy baguette,” which made him nauseous. Instead, he subsisted primarily on dairy products, cereal bars, and mineral water.
Despite the difficult conditions, Sarkozy noted that the prison staff often addressed him respectfully as “President” and that two police officers were permanently stationed in the cell next door for his protection.
Political Reflections and the Far-Right
Beyond the visceral details of prison life, Sarkozy, who built his political career on tough-on-crime rhetoric, used the book to offer a critical self-reflection on France’s prison system and to deliver a strategic political message to his conservative party, The Republicans.
- A Shift in View: He wrote that his time inside caused his “tough-on-crime stance” to take on a “new perspective.” He promised that upon his release, his public comments on the justice and prison system would be “more elaborate and nuanced.”
- Advising the Right: Perhaps the most controversial political passage is his advice to his party on appealing to far-right voters. He revealed he spoke by phone from prison with far-right leader Marine Le Pen, and concluded that her National Rally party is “not a danger for the Republic.” This public softening on a party conservatives have shunned for decades has been described by analysts as a “thunderclap.”
Sarkozy served 20 days of a five-year sentence before his release pending appeal, which is scheduled to be heard between March and June 2026. The book is being hailed by supporters as a profound document of resilience and condemned by critics as a politically-timed memoir designed to paint him as a victim.