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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent in custody.

The revelation emerged less than two weeks after Sarkozy left prison as he contests his conviction related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to obtain election campaign funds provided by the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, suggesting the book is more about his reflections while in isolation as opposed to a broader observation regarding the strained and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Quiet is absent, not present in that facility, where noise is a lot to hear,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, inner life grows stronger behind bars.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy had appeared remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this difficult experience tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate because it’s gruelling.”

First of Its Kind

He, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president in the European Union and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail.

Prior to imprisonment he had said he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.

Books in Prison

It is not certain whether he had time to go through the three books he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to take revenge.

Life in Confinement

Sarkozy was placed secluded due to safety concerns in a cell approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison in Paris. Guards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

It was stated his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals yet he declined, as per accounts. Unclear remains if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain each day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings security would be better released compared to inside. “He has faced threats against his life, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when a Paris court gave him five years in prison for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to acquire political donations during his election campaign.

He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, with a new trial set for early next year.