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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a memoir this autumn named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent in custody.

This news was made just 11 days following the ex-leader was released while he contests his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain election campaign funds provided by the leadership of the late Libyan dictator.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he writes in one passage, suggesting the memoir is more about his thoughts from isolation instead of extensive analysis of the strained and struggling French prison system.

“I forget silence, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is a lot to hear,” he continues. “The noise is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Release Hearing: Sharing the Struggle

At his release request hearing, he participated via screen from a room in prison, depicting prison life as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner as it’s exhausting.”

First of Its Kind

The former president, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, became the inaugural past president in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure from France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he declared he would use his time to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear did he manage to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, a plot where an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to exact retribution.

Prison Conditions

The former leader was placed in solitary confinement for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities at La Santé prison in the city. Guards stayed in the next cell.

It was stated his diet consisted just yogurt while inside because he feared meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, as per accounts. It is uncertain if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, who saw him regularly daily during the incarceration, informed the court security would be better out of prison rather than in custody. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when the judiciary imposed five years in prison on conspiracy charges in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial set for early next year.