Epstein and Prince Andrew: The villains in Giuffre's sex abuse memoir

The imprisonment of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is dominating the front pages in France. A former head of state in prison is a first in the history of France’s Fifth Republic and a first in Europe, according to Courrier Picard. The paper calls it an “unprecedented” sentence that’s “a sign of democratic health”. Sarkozy “in the shadows”, reads the front page of left-wing paper Libération, which believes the event has been “over-dramatised”. Right-wing paper Le Figaro calls it a “personal ordeal” for Sarkozy and a “political shock” for the country. The paper reports that the former president is determined to “regain his freedom quickly”. The newspaper says that Sarkozy is a victim of “judicial despotism” and that he is accused on an “unfindable crime”. Le Figaro interviewed Sarkozy two days before his imprisonment, with Sarkozy saying that his life is “a novel”. In a sentimental description, the paper says that this Tuesday he will experience the “spectacle of humiliation” – quite the opposite of what he lived as president.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron received Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace. Macron considered the move “normal, on a human level,” “given the context,” Le Monde reports. Meanwhile, France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has said that he will visit Sarkozy in prison, to ensure proper “security conditions”. He added that the minister of justice can visit “any prison and any inmate whenever he wants”. Communist paper L’Humanité says that Sarkozy has been given special treatment that highlights the “culture of privilege" in the prison system. The paper says that Darmanin is seemingly not concerned about other pressing issues like record prison overcrowding. 

Turning to other news, the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims, is published this Tuesday. It’s called “Nobody’s Girl” and was finished shortly before her death in April, when she took her own life. She called herself “Epstein’s perfect victim”, The Times reports. When she was only 17 years old, Prince Andrew was one of many men accused of sexually abusing her. He denied the allegations and said that the now-infamous photo of him, Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell was fabricated. In a review, The Telegraph calls the memoir “a stomach-turning study in depravity”, adding that it's a book that "truly matters”. The Telegraph says that while reading it, there are times where you think: “How much can a person endure?” The Guardian focuses on the part where the book reveals that Andrew tried to hire “internet trolls” to hassle Giuffre. In the book, she repeats her allegations that she was forced to have sex with the prince on three different occasions. The memoir comes amid “growing pressure for Prince Andrew to be officially stripped of his titles”, the paper notes.

Next, a "revolutionary" microchip implant is helping blind people see again, The Times reports. The chip inserted in the back of the patient's eyeball is connected to high-tech glasses containing a video camera that sends signals to the brain. Some 84 percent of the trial group – older people with age-related blindness – “could read letters, numbers and words” within one year of the operation. The article says that the research is an example of how tech devices can lead to medical breakthroughs. 

Finally, not all water is made equal. High-end water is part of the fine-dining experience of some restaurants, The Wall Street Journal tells us. The article follows Magdalena Kalley, who went to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Los Angeles for its famous water menu. It’s a detailed book describing each water’s origin and flavour profile. Kalley shares that she is “obsessed” with French Evian water and its “taste and texture”. The “water sommelier” who created the menu says the restaurant makes about $100,000 a year in water sales. But not everyone is buying the marketing, as fancy water sometimes reaches a pricey $100 per bottle.

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