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Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a memoir in the coming weeks named Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his experience endured behind bars.

The revelation emerged just 11 days following the former president gained freedom while he appeals his conviction related to illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to acquire presidential race money from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts

“In prison there is nothing to see, and nothing to do,” he writes in one passage, suggesting the book is more about his thoughts during solitary confinement as opposed to extensive analysis on the strained and struggling jail system in France.

“I forget silence, which is missing in that facility, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, one’s inner world grows stronger behind bars.”

Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy participated via screen from inside the facility, describing his time inside as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this nightmare bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“I didn’t expect that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It affects one all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

Historical Context

Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he declared he would use his time to compose an account.

Reading Material

It remains unclear whether he had time to review and analyze the volumes he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail then breaks out to exact retribution.

Daily Reality

The former leader was held in isolation due to safety concerns in a cell roughly 100 square feet featuring a personal bathroom in the Paris jail in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted only yoghurts during his stay because he feared any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities to prepare his own meals yet he declined, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, Christophe Ingrain daily during the incarceration, told the release hearing he would be safer released compared to inside. “He received death threats, has heard screaming after dark plus rapid actions next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

Sarkozy went to prison in late October when a French court gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to acquire political donations during his election campaign.

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