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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts his experience spent in jail.

The revelation emerged shortly after the former president was released as his appeal proceeds the court ruling related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure election campaign funds from the government of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he notes in an extract, indicating the account is more about his thoughts during isolation instead of wider commentary regarding the packed and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which is missing at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The noise unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, he had appeared by video link from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

“I never imagined at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one every inmate due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first past president in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure of France to be incarcerated.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Books in Prison

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the texts he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He was placed in solitary confinement for his own security in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in the city. Guards occupied a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks while inside because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. He had facilities for self-catering but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if he will detail his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, who visited his client every day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer released than inside. “He has faced menacing messages, has heard screaming after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Legal Proceedings

He entered custody in late October following a Paris court gave him five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to obtain political donations for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial is scheduled for next spring.