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The ex-president of France is preparing a book this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period spent in custody.

The announcement was made just 11 days after the former president gained freedom while he appeals his conviction on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain presidential race money provided by the leadership of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he notes in one passage, suggesting the book centers around his thoughts during isolation rather than a broader observation on the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he adds. “The racket is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, the former leader had appeared by video link from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this ordeal bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure from France to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Reading Material

It is not certain if he found the opportunity to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, where a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

He was held in isolation to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in Paris. Security personnel occupied an adjacent room.

Reports indicated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks during his stay because he feared meals provided could have been tampered with. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client each day during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better outside jail compared to inside. “He has faced menacing messages, has heard screaming during nighttime and emergency responses in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody on 21 October after the judiciary imposed five years in prison for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain election financing for his presidential bid.

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