Overview
- Released Wednesday, Diary of a Prisoner details Nicolas Sarkozy’s 20 days in solitary at Paris’ La Santé after his September conviction over alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 campaign.
- Sarkozy says he was isolated for security, visited regularly by his wife and lawyers, protected by police in a neighboring cell, and offered a transfer by President Emmanuel Macron that he declined.
- He argues National Rally is not a danger to the Republic and urges Republicans to seek its voters, recounting a call with Marine Le Pen in which he rejected joining a traditional anti–far-right front.
- His legal exposure continues: he appealed the five-year Libya-related sentence after serving 20 days before release under judicial supervision, and a separate 2012 financing conviction was upheld with a one-year term to be served at home under monitoring.
- He portrays himself as persecuted, compares his case to Alfred Dreyfus, and accuses investigative outlet Mediapart of fabricating documents, while the brisk-selling 213–216 page book quickly climbed the charts.