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The ex-president of France plans a book this autumn named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing the period endured behind bars.

This news emerged shortly following Sarkozy was released as his appeal proceeds his conviction for unlawful coordination in a case to acquire election campaign funds from the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in an extract, implying the account centers around his musings during solitary confinement instead of a broader observation regarding the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, not present at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The din persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, the former leader had appeared by video link from a room in prison, depicting prison life as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, easing this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

Sarkozy, who led the nation between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader from the EU and the first postwar leader of France to experience jail.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the texts he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, where an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards stayed in a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared meals provided could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better out of prison compared to inside. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began last month after a French court sentenced him to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to secure political donations for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and a fresh trial is scheduled for the coming spring.