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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a memoir next month named A Prisoner’s Diary, which recounts the period endured in custody.

The revelation was made shortly after the ex-leader was released while his appeal proceeds his conviction for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to acquire election campaign funds provided by the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he notes in one passage, indicating the memoir will focus on his thoughts from seclusion as opposed to wider commentary regarding the overcrowded and struggling French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which is missing at the prison, where there is constant sound,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who helped make this ordeal bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I never imagined at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, the ex-head of state between 2007 and 2012, was the first ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure of France to experience jail.

Before entering jail he mentioned he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Reading Material

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the three books he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy was held secluded for his own security in a room roughly 100 square feet including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards stayed in a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated that he consumed only yoghurts during his stay worried that meals provided could have been tampered with. Although he had access to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if he will detail what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “He received death threats, has heard screaming during nighttime and the urgent intervention next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Legal Proceedings

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when a Paris court sentenced him to a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure campaign funds during his election campaign.

He disputes the charges challenging the decision, and a fresh trial planned for the coming spring.