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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time served behind bars.

This news was made just 11 days following Sarkozy gained freedom as he appeals the court ruling on charges of illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to obtain election campaign funds linked to the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in an extract, indicating the book centers around his thoughts while in isolation as opposed to a broader observation on the strained and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is constant sound,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is fortified behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, the former leader participated via screen from inside the facility, depicting prison life as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, showing great humanity, easing this difficult experience bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, was the first former head from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to be incarcerated.

Ahead of his incarceration he declared he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Cell Library

It is not certain did he manage to go through the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned later flees to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement for his own security in a cell approximately nine square meters including private facilities at La Santé prison in the city. Guards occupied an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison worried that meals provided could have been tampered with. Although he had access for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain daily throughout the jail term, told the release hearing his safety would improve released than inside. “He received menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime plus rapid actions in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison last month after the judiciary imposed a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial planned for early next year.