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Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account this autumn titled A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his time served in jail.

The announcement emerged shortly following the former president left prison as he contests the guilty verdict for illegal collaboration in a case to acquire political financing provided by the government of former Libyan leader.

Prison Experience: Personal Reflections

“In prison one sees little, and nothing to do,” he reflects in one passage, indicating the memoir is more about his musings from isolation as opposed to a broader observation regarding the overcrowded and troubled French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing at the prison, where one hears constant sound,” he adds. “The noise unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is strengthened behind bars.”

Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship

While appealing for release, Sarkozy had appeared by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, displaying remarkable compassion, easing this ordeal manageable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it due to its intensity.”

Unprecedented Situation

He, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Before entering jail 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 read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a biography of Jesus in two parts and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where an innocent man ends up incarcerated later flees to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained secluded to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to cook for himself yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if he will detail meals during incarceration.

Defense Viewpoint

His attorney, Christophe Ingrain every day while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, heard shouts at night and the urgent intervention next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

His incarceration began last month following a French court imposed a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire campaign funds for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, and another court case set for the coming spring.