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The ex-president of France plans a personal account in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his experience spent behind bars.

The announcement emerged just 11 days after the former president gained freedom as he appeals his conviction related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to acquire election campaign funds linked to the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“In prison one sees little, and nothing to do,” he notes in an extract, implying the memoir will focus on his thoughts while in isolation as opposed to extensive analysis of the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, which is missing at the prison, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The noise is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, he participated remotely from a room in prison, depicting prison life as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare tolerable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind at this stage of life, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

The former president, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure from France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he declared he intended to spend the period to compose an account.

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the three books he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a space approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility in Paris. Security personnel were stationed in the next cell.

It was stated that he had eaten only yoghurts while inside because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. Although he had access to cook for himself yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better released rather than in custody. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began on 21 October after a French court gave him a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to acquire political donations during his election campaign.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and a fresh trial is scheduled for early next year.