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The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time served behind bars.

The revelation came just 11 days after the ex-leader gained freedom while he appeals his conviction related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to secure political financing from the government of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“In prison visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, indicating the account will focus on his reflections while in isolation as opposed to wider commentary of the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“I forget silence, which is missing in La Santé, where one hears a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is strengthened in prison.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

While appealing for release, the former leader had appeared by video link from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It leaves a mark every inmate due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Cell Library

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, where an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

Sarkozy remained in solitary confinement to protect him in a room approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Security personnel occupied an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts while inside due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. He had facilities to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing he would be safer outside jail than inside. “There were menacing messages, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began in late October when a French court sentenced him to a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy related to a plan to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial set for the coming spring.