The three weeks former French President Nicolas Sarkozy spent in prison were characterized by 'isolation and grayness', as revealed in excerpts from his upcoming book, 'Prisoner's Memoirs,' in which he describes his experience behind bars. At 70, Sarkozy became the first president in modern French history to be imprisoned, after being convicted of receiving funds for his 2007 presidential campaign from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was sentenced to five years in prison but was granted conditional release under judicial supervision after just 20 days. In his book, Sarkozy writes: 'Grayness took over everything, it devoured everything and covered every surface,' adding, 'I would have given anything to be able to look out the window, or to enjoy watching the cars go by.' On his first night in his cell, Sarkozy knelt and prayed after watching a football match. He said, 'It came naturally, I stayed like that for several minutes, and I prayed to God to give me the strength to endure this injustice.' Sarkozy was under the protection of two prison officers and remained confined to his cell for 23 hours a day, except during visiting hours. His prison diet consisted of 'dairy products, oat and barley bars, mineral water, apple juice, and some sweets.' In an interview with the French newspaper 'Le Figaro,' Sarkozy revealed that he wrote most of the book 'with a ballpoint pen on a small wooden table daily' while behind bars and finished it after his release on November 10. Despite his legal troubles since leaving office, Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the French right. He maintains his innocence, and his appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Paris Court of Appeal between March 16 and June 6, 2026. After his release, Sarkozy posted on X: 'The law was applied. I will now prepare for the appeal trial. My focus is solely on one goal: to prove my innocence... The truth will prevail... It is a clear lesson that life has taught me.'
