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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent in custody.

The announcement emerged shortly following the ex-leader left prison while he appeals the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration in a case to secure election campaign funds linked to the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“Behind bars there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in one passage, implying the account will focus on his thoughts during solitary confinement instead of wider commentary on the strained and struggling correctional facilities in the country.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as exhausting. He had told the court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this ordeal tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, extremely tough. It has an impact every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, who served as France’s president between 2007 and 2012, was the first former head in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he would use his time for authoring a memoir.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is whether he had time to review and analyze the three books he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

The former leader remained in isolation to protect him in a cell approximately nine square meters including private facilities at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten only yoghurts during his stay worried that any food may have been contaminated. Although he had access to cook for himself but refused this, as per accounts. Unclear remains if he will detail what he ate in prison.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Christophe Ingrain every day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings security would be better outside jail compared to inside. “There were menacing messages, has heard screaming during nighttime plus rapid actions in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody last month following a French court sentenced him to five years in prison on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire campaign funds during his election campaign.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, with a new trial is scheduled for early next year.