Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is releasing a memoir of his brief 20-day stint in prison, set for publication exactly one month after his sentence concluded.
Sarkozy served as president from 2007 to 2012. His criminal conviction in September stemmed from around this time, with a French court finding him guilty of being involved in a scheme to funnel millions of Euros from Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi into his presidential campaign. He was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy on Sept. 25.
Sarkozy began his prison sentence on Oct. 21, but was released early on Nov. 10, pending an appeal, but under strict supervision.
The former French head of state is now looking to share his experiences with the world almost as soon as he left. His new book, Nicolas Sarkozy, The Journal of a Prisoner, is debuting in France on Dec. 10.
“In prison, there is nothing to see, and nothing to do. I forget the silence that does not exist at La Santé where there is much to hear. The noise there is alas constant. But like the desert, inner life strengthens in prison,” he was quoted as saying by the publisher Fayard.
Despite the seemingly boring premise, given the admitted lack of sights and activities, Sarkozy turned his experience into a 216-page memoir, coming to approximately 11 pages per day of captivity. Though the book will be published one month after he left Paris’s La Santé prison, the former president appears to have already finished the book just 11 days after leaving.
EX-FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY GRANTED RELEASE FROM PRISON IN PARIS COURT RULING
Sarkozy earned the unenviable status as the first French head of state to be imprisoned since Marshal Philip Pétain, the leader of the Nazi collaborationist Vichy France in World War II.
Sarkozy was kept separate from the general prison population during his brief stay to ensure his safety. Videos from during his stay showed his neighbors shouting abuse at him through their windows, holding him responsible for Gaddafi’s death in 2011.
, 2025-11-21 18:26:00, 
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