Query: what does Paul Verlaine, the celebrated Decadent poet who was imprisoned for shooting his lover Arthur Rimbaud, have in common with Nicolas Sarkozy, the dapper former French president? Well, they both spent time in prison and were all the better for it.
Nicolas Sarkozy emerged a month ago from La Santé prison a finer man and better Christian, according to his new memoir, published yesterday, about his 20 days’ incarceration. He was given a five-year sentence for allegedly conspiring to obtain funding from the Libyan president, Muamar Gadaffi – a charge he has always denied. He’s now been freed, pending appeal.
