Sarkozy announces upcoming book “The Journal of a Prisoner”

Friday 21 November 2025 - 14:00

By: Sahili Aya

Sarkozy announces upcoming book “The Journal of a Prisoner”

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy revealed on Friday that he will publish a new book titled The Journal of a Prisoner on December 10, under the Fayard publishing house, now controlled by businessman Vincent Bolloré. The announcement was made through a message posted on platform X.

In a short excerpt released online, Sarkozy reflects on his time at La Santé prison, describing an environment where isolation coexists with overwhelming noise. “There is nothing to see and nothing to do in prison,” he writes. “Silence doesn’t exist at La Santé, where sound is constant. Like in the desert, prison strengthens one’s inner life.”

Sarkozy spent three weeks behind bars following his conviction in the so-called Libya case. On September 25, the former head of state — now 70 — was sentenced at first instance to five years in prison, with an immediate detention order and a €100,000 fine, for criminal association related to alleged illicit financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy has repeatedly denied the accusations.

His incarceration — a first for a former French president — fueled intense political and public debate.

Detained on October 21, Sarkozy was released on November 10 after the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that he did not present a flight risk and placed him under judicial supervision. The judges justified the original detention order by citing the “exceptional seriousness” of the accusations. Sarkozy, however, argued that the decision was driven not by legal concerns but by “hatred.”

His appeal trial is scheduled to take place from March 16 to June 3 before the Paris Court of Appeal.