Sarkozy’s 'Diary of a Prisoner' hits bookstores amid supporters' cheers

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has released his book, "Diary of a Prisoner" ("Le Journal d’un Prisonnier"), on his time in jail following his conviction. .

The memoir was published on Wednesday, 10 December, with hundreds of supporters welcoming him at a book-signing event in Paris

The book, published by a French Paris-based publishing house Fayard, recounts the three weeks Sarkozy spent in La Santé prison this autumn, after the Paris court found him guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007.

Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of financing his winning 2007 presidential campaign with funds from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in exchange for diplomatic favours, when he was still serving as interior minister.

The 70-year-old former leader was convicted on 25 September, 2025, began serving his sentence on 21 October, and was released on 10 November pending an appeal.

The appeal trial in the Libya case is scheduled to run from 16 March to 3 June, 2026.

The former president has consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed the ruling on his case would 'undermine faith in France's judiciary'.

Supporters gathered enthusiastically as Sarkozy appeared to promote the memoir.

One of former leader's fans, 68-year-old Francois Duthu, said he wanted to read this book because he is "sure it will recount the most intense moments of his time in prison".

"I'm so outraged that the former president went to prison in a free country like ours - it's a scandal, truly," Duthu concluded.

Another supporter, Agnes Gras, 59, said she wanted to "pay him respects", as she felt that "what he went through was unjust".

"We don’t remember enough that he was also mayor of Neuilly and that he saved children during the ‘Human Bomb’ attack," she said mentioning the Neuilly kindergarten hostage crisis of 13–15 May, 1993.

In France's Neuilly‑sur‑Seine, Érick Schmitt, a distressed and unemployed businessman calling himself the “Human Bomb,” held a kindergarten class hostage for two days. The standoff drew national attention and was ultimately resolved by French authorities, with Sarkozy personally intervening during the crisis.

"He accomplished a great deal,” Gras added.

Earlier conviction

Sarkozy was also convicted, in 2024, of having spent almost twice the maximum legal amount of 22.5 million euros ($25.5 million) on the 2012 re-election bid he lost to François Hollande.

He had appealed his conviction over the re-election campaign.

The Court of Cassation upheld the guilty verdict, making former President Sarkozy’s conviction final under French law, with no further appeals possible.

However, six months of his sentence were suspended and could be served through alternative measures, such as wearing an electronic bracelet, rather than in prison.

• Sarkozy loses appeal as his 2012 campaign conviction is upheld
• Sarkozy appeal against conspiracy conviction to begin in March

Sarkozy, the first post-war French president to be imprisoned, was also previously cleared of three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds.

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