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The ex-president of France is preparing a book next month named Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling the period served behind bars.

The revelation came just 11 days after the ex-leader left prison while he contests the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration connected to efforts to acquire political financing provided by the regime of the late Libyan dictator.

Life Behind Bars: Solitary Musings

“Inside jail there is nothing to see, with little to occupy time,” he notes in a preview, implying the memoir centers around his musings while in solitary confinement rather than wider commentary of the strained and struggling French prison system.

“I forget silence, which is missing in that facility, where noise is a lot to hear,” he adds. “The noise persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, inner life is fortified in prison.”

Court Appearance: Sharing the Struggle

During his plea for freedom, the former leader had appeared remotely from his cell, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who have made this ordeal bearable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It affects one on any prisoner due to its intensity.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the first leader since WWII of France to serve time in prison.

Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he would use his time to compose an account.

Reading Material

Unconfirmed is if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the texts he brought with him: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the classic tale, a plot where an innocent man ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

The former leader remained secluded for his own security in a cell roughly 100 square feet including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Security personnel were stationed in an adjacent room.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten only yoghurts during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, according to reports. Unclear remains if the memoir includes meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, who saw him regularly every day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings he would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has faced threats against his life, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October following a Paris court sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure political donations for his presidential bid.

He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial set for the coming spring.