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The ex-president of France is preparing a book this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period endured behind bars.

The revelation was made less than two weeks following the ex-leader was released while he contests his conviction on charges of unlawful coordination in a case to obtain presidential race money provided by the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, indicating the account centers around his reflections while in isolation as opposed to wider commentary regarding the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where one hears endless commotion,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, the former leader participated by video link from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It has an impact every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

He, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, was the first ex-leader from the EU and the first leader since WWII of France to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail he had said he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to read and critique the three books he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

He was held in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a space roughly 100 square feet including private facilities at La Santé prison in Paris. Guards occupied an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay worried that any food may have been contaminated. He had facilities to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, as per accounts. It is uncertain if he will detail his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly every day during the incarceration, told the release hearing his safety would improve outside jail compared to inside. “He received threats against his life, has heard screaming during nighttime and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October after the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.