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The ex-president of France plans a memoir next month named Diary of a Prisoner, detailing his time endured in custody.

This news came just 11 days following Sarkozy was released while he contests his conviction related to criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to secure election campaign funds linked to the government of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“In prison visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in one passage, indicating the account is more about his reflections while in seclusion as opposed to a broader observation regarding the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present in La Santé, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The racket persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is strengthened in prison.”

Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle

At his release request hearing, the former leader participated by video link from a room in prison, depicting prison life as exhausting. He had told the court: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who helped make this ordeal manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It affects one on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, who led the nation for a five-year term, was the first past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to experience jail.

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

Cell Library

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was held in isolation to protect him in a space roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail located in the capital. Security personnel stayed in an adjacent room.

It was stated that he consumed only yoghurts in prison due to concerns meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if he will detail his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, who saw him regularly each day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings his safety would improve out of prison compared to inside. “He received threats against his life, listened to yells during nighttime and the urgent intervention next door when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when a Paris court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial is scheduled for next spring.