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The ex-president of France is preparing a book next month called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period spent in custody.

The announcement came just 11 days following the ex-leader was released as he contests the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire political financing from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the book is more about his musings from seclusion rather than extensive analysis on the packed and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy participated remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he would use his time to write a book.

Cell Library

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy remained in solitary confinement to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility in Paris. Guards occupied a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt in prison due to concerns any food might have been spat on. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain every day during the incarceration, told the release hearing he would be safer outside jail rather than in custody. “He received menacing messages, has heard screaming during nighttime plus rapid actions next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began on 21 October after the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and another court case set for the coming spring.