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The ex-president of France is preparing a book in the coming weeks called A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his time spent in custody.

The announcement was made less than two weeks following the former president was released as he contests the guilty verdict related to unlawful coordination connected to efforts to acquire presidential race money from the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the memoir is more about his musings from seclusion rather than a broader observation on the strained and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which is missing at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The racket is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life is fortified while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present via screen from his cell, depicting prison life as draining. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

He, the ex-head of state for a five-year term, set a precedent as former head of an EU country and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to experience jail.

Before entering jail he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the three books he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Daily Reality

The former leader was held secluded to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility in Paris. Guards stayed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns any food might have been spat on. He had facilities for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain each day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings security would be better outside jail compared to inside. “He has faced threats against his life, heard shouts after dark plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison last month when the judiciary sentenced him to five years in prison on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial planned for the coming spring.