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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a personal account next month titled A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time served behind bars.

The announcement emerged shortly following the ex-leader gained freedom as he appeals the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration connected to efforts to obtain political financing provided by the government of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, and activities are scarce,” he notes in a preview, indicating the account centers around his musings from seclusion as opposed to wider commentary regarding the strained and troubled jail system in France.

“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where noise is constant sound,” he continues. “The racket unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is strengthened while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

During his plea for freedom, he was present by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this nightmare manageable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, deeply straining. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader in the European Union and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he had said he would use his time to write a book.

Reading Material

It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the three books he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Daily Reality

He remained in isolation to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.

Reports indicated that he had eaten only yoghurts while inside worried that any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities to cook for himself yet he declined, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.

Lawyer’s Statements

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain daily while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts during nighttime and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

He entered custody on 21 October after a French court sentenced him to five years in prison on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire campaign funds during his election campaign.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and another court case is scheduled for early next year.