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The ex-president of France plans a personal account in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling the period endured in custody.

This news emerged shortly following the former president gained freedom as he contests his conviction for unlawful coordination connected to efforts to secure presidential race money provided by the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Behind bars visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he notes in a preview, indicating the memoir is more about his thoughts while in solitary confinement rather than wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, which is missing at the prison, where one hears a lot to hear,” he continues. “The din unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world grows stronger in prison.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who have made this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It affects one every inmate due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president in the European Union 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

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to read and critique the three books he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was held in isolation to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres including private facilities at the correctional facility located in the capital. Guards stayed in an adjacent room.

It was stated his diet consisted solely dairy snacks in prison because he feared any food may have been contaminated. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Unclear remains if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings he would be safer released rather than in custody. “He received death threats, heard shouts after dark and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

His incarceration began in late October following a Paris court gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain political donations for his 2007 presidential race.

He denies wrongdoing and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial set for early next year.