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The ex-president of France is preparing a book next month named Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period served in custody.

The announcement emerged less than two weeks following Sarkozy gained freedom while his appeal proceeds the court ruling for criminal conspiracy regarding a scheme to secure presidential race money from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Personal Reflections

“Inside jail one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he reflects in one passage, suggesting the account will focus on his thoughts from isolation rather than wider commentary regarding the strained and struggling French prison system.

“Silence escapes me, which is missing in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he continues. “The racket is alas constant. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world is strengthened behind bars.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present by video link from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, easing this ordeal bearable – as it truly is one.”

“I didn’t expect that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It has an impact all who experience it as it’s exhausting.”

Unprecedented Situation

The former president, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first former head from the EU and the first postwar leader from France to serve time in prison.

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

Books in Prison

It is not certain did he manage to go through 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 sentenced to jail later flees to seek vengeance.

Prison Conditions

He was held in solitary confinement to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at La Santé prison in Paris. Two bodyguards stayed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned that he consumed only yoghurts during his stay because he feared prison cuisine may have been contaminated. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.

Defense Viewpoint

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly daily while he was in prison, told the release hearing his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “He has faced threats against his life, has heard screaming at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Case Background

His incarceration began last month when a Paris court gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his 2007 presidential race.

He maintains his innocence and is contesting the ruling, and another court case is scheduled for the coming spring.