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The ex-president of France is preparing a personal account this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period spent in custody.

This news was made less than two weeks after Sarkozy left prison as he contests the guilty verdict for illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire political financing linked to the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Prison Experience: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail one sees little, and nothing to do,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the memoir centers around his thoughts during solitary confinement rather than wider commentary on the overcrowded and troubled correctional facilities in the country.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger in prison.”

Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated via screen from his cell, depicting prison life as draining. He stated to the judge: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who helped make this nightmare tolerable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It has an impact all who experience it due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

Sarkozy, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as former head from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

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

Reading Material

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to go through the three books he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a blameless person ends up incarcerated but escapes to take revenge.

Prison Conditions

He was held secluded for his own security in a cell approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail in the city. Security personnel were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

Reports indicated his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison worried that prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to prepare his own meals yet he declined, according to reports. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly every day throughout the jail term, informed the court his safety would improve released than inside. “He has faced death threats, heard shouts at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison last month following the judiciary gave him five years in prison 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.