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Nicolas Sarkozy plans a memoir next month named Diary of a Prisoner, detailing the period spent behind bars.

The announcement was made less than two weeks following the former president left prison while he appeals the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration connected to efforts to secure election campaign funds linked to the regime of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Behind bars one sees little, and nothing to do,” he writes in one passage, suggesting the book will focus on his reflections from isolation instead of a broader observation on the overcrowded and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world is fortified in prison.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

At his release request hearing, the former leader had appeared remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who helped make this ordeal bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. 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, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

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

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.

Life in Confinement

He was placed in isolation due to safety concerns in a space of about nine sq metres including private facilities in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

It was stated that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay because he feared prison cuisine might have been spat on. Although he had access to prepare his own meals yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

The legal representative, who saw him regularly each day throughout the jail term, stated during proceedings his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “There were death threats, heard shouts after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

His incarceration began on 21 October following the judiciary sentenced him to a half-decade term for illegal collaboration related to a plan to obtain campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.

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