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The ex-president of France is preparing a memoir in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts the period served in jail.

The revelation emerged just 11 days following Sarkozy left prison while he contests the guilty verdict for illegal collaboration connected to efforts to obtain political financing provided by the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he notes in a preview, indicating the memoir centers around his reflections during seclusion rather than a broader observation of the packed and struggling French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing at the prison, where noise is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy had appeared via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, easing this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is did he manage to go through the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where an innocent man is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

He remained in isolation for his own security in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Guards stayed in the next cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside due to concerns meals provided might have been spat on. Although he had access for self-catering but refused this, according to reports. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing security would be better outside jail rather than in custody. “He has faced threats against his life, has heard screaming during nighttime and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a Paris court imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration related to a plan to secure campaign funds during his election campaign.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and another court case planned for the coming spring.