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The ex-president of France will soon publish a book in the coming weeks named A Prisoner’s Diary, detailing his time endured in custody.

The revelation was made shortly after the former president gained freedom as he contests the guilty verdict on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to obtain political financing provided by the leadership of former Libyan leader.

Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts

“Inside jail visibility is limited, and nothing to do,” he writes in one passage, implying the memoir is more about his musings from seclusion rather than extensive analysis regarding the packed and crisis-hit jail system in France.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in La Santé, where noise is endless commotion,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.”

Release Hearing: Recounting the Hardship

During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present via screen from a room in prison, describing his time inside as exhausting. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare manageable – as it truly is one.”

“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, deeply straining. It affects one every inmate due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

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

Before entering jail he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity to write a book.

Cell Library

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to review and analyze the three books he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated then breaks out to seek vengeance.

Life in Confinement

The former leader remained in solitary confinement for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility located in the capital. Two bodyguards occupied the next cell.

Reports indicated that he had eaten only yoghurts in prison due to concerns prison cuisine might have been spat on. He had facilities to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. Unclear remains if he will detail his dietary choices.

Lawyer’s Statements

The legal representative, who visited his client every day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing security would be better outside jail compared to inside. “He has faced menacing messages, listened to yells at night and the urgent intervention next door as a detainee harmed themselves.”

Charges and Sentence

Sarkozy went to prison on 21 October when the judiciary gave him a half-decade term for illegal collaboration in connection with efforts to acquire election financing for his presidential bid.

He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, and a fresh trial set for early next year.